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The Lure of the Book 



. 














The Lure of 
the Book 


BY 

METTA FRAZEE MILLER 



THE 

WINONA PUBLISHING COMPANY 

BOOKSELLERS :: PUBLISHERS 
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS 












Tim PyT U. Ti^rgjT^e - OoMTM c^r 




LIBRARY Of CONGRESS 


Tv/o Cooies Received 

iUN S0.)BU3 








INTRODUCTION 


The Old Testament, in the light of our 
present civilization and social codes, seems 
somewhat perplexing and incongruous to the 
average reader. This is not surprising, for 
its pages contain but a disconnected record of 
a laggard evolution of an Oriental people 
from *the depths of ignorance and slavery to 
the exalted heights of national and religious 
independence. 

The intent of this book is not to deal with 
profound questions of theology and philoso¬ 
phy, but, in the absence of religious instruc¬ 
tion in our public schools and colleges, to set 
before the people a short and concise view of 
the main features of the Old Testament. 

In but few homes, today, can be found an 
“ household altar ”: and “ family devotions ” 
have become, largely, a matter of history. 
With the passing of these sacred icustoms 
from daily life, the Bible has lost its place in 
the home, and, with the loss of reverence for 
its pages has come a repugnance to the Old 
Testament. Parents are averse to their chil¬ 
dren reading it, and public sentiment is such 
5 


INTRODUCTION 


that, sooner or later, many portions of it must 
become obsolete. 

Bearing all this in mind, the author of this 
work, fortified with many years' experience 
in practical religious enterprise among the 
children and youth of our great cities, has 
compiled the main features and facts of the 
Old Testament in convenient form and has 
embodied them herein. 

This book will be found of greatest value 
to busy men and women who have but little 
time for study; and of inestimable worth to 
those who teach in Sunday, Mission and 
Settlement Schools. Moreover, every child 
may read it with interest and profit, for herein 
are the old Bible stories told in Bible language 
—the stories every child should know and 
which will still be treasured after childhood’s 
days have ceased to be. 

G. F. A. Mac Kelcan. 


6 



PREFACE 


Many years of experience in telling Bible 
stories have proven to the writer that children 
not only listen eagerly, but also remember 
them, and frequently make practical use of 
their teachings. In fact, they often have a 
keener insight into, and a firmer grasp upon 
the spiritual idea than people of riper years 
and more extensive knowledge of language; 
for, indeed, “ the letter killeth, but the spirit 
giveth life. ,, 

Children soon learn to love the Bible if 
they can escape the long, “ hard ” words and, 
what is to them, a strange and ambiguous 
phraseology. This book, therefore, does not 
aim to be a deep treatise for Bible students. 
Its aim is to tell the stories of the Old Testa¬ 
ment to the young people and at the same 
time to familiarize them with the style and 
language of the Bible; the spiritual import of 
the history of the Israelites; and to show the 
steady growth of Israel's seers and prophets 
out of heathen rites and materialism toward a 
higher and better concept of God and His 
Love. 


7 


PREFACE 


Where parts of the story are written in the 
language of the Bible the quotations could not 
well be continuous, so only the verses, or por¬ 
tions, best suited to the recital have been 
chosen; but where the theme is uninterrupted 
by leaving out verses, or even chapters, the 
asterisk has been omitted. Otherwise it has 
been employed in the usual manner. 

The Authorized Version has been used for 
this work, except in some places where the 
Revised Version seemed to make the mean¬ 
ing plainer. 

The Psalmist has said: “ The entrance of 
thy words giveth light; it giveth understand¬ 
ing to the simple.” This light is the life of 
men, and with the hope of interesting the 
young in a higher thought of life this book 
has been written. 

M. F. M. 


8 



THE PENTATEUCH. 
Genesis—Deuteronomy. 


































. 






The Bible. 

The Story of Creation. 

The Rainbow. 

Abraham and Isaac. 

Jacob. 

Joseph. 

The Sons of Jacob. 

Moses. Part 1st, 2d, 3d, 4th. 






THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


The Bible. 

In studying the Bible we must always bear 
in mind that, in the long ago, when that won¬ 
derful book was written, the language of the 
people and the people themselves were very 
different from the language and people of 
today; and it is difficult for the unpoetical, 
matter-of-fact man of the Occident to read 
intelligently the flowery, symbolical language 
of the Orient without knowing something of 
the poetical or spiritual meaning of the words 
used. It will be the aim of this collection of 
Bible stories to give the story in plain lan¬ 
guage and still preserve the poetic style of 
the East by frequent quotations from the 
original. 

It is interesting to know how the Bible 
came to be called the “ Scriptures.” 

In the early days they seemed to make a 
distinction in speaking of the books compris¬ 
ing the Bible. All the books together were 
called “ The Reading,” while one portion was 
13 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


called “ The Book of the Law ” and other 
portions were referred to as “ Scripture ” 
which seemed a more spiritual teaching of the 
law. 

By the time the New Testament was com¬ 
piled the older book had become very ancient, 
and the fact that the term “ Scripture ” is 
used almost entirely in the new, emphasizes 
the thought that it had grown to mean spirit¬ 
ual teachings, for the New Testament deals 
mostly with the spiritual significance of the 
law, and teachings of sage and prophet in 
the old. 

The word “ Bible ” means “ books,” and 
well has this collection earned the name “ The 
Bible,” or “ Holy Bible,” which was not given 
to it, however, until about the fifth century of 
our era,—so long does it take the world to 
grow to even a slight appreciation of that 
which is greatest and best. 

Many stories might be told how the Bible 
has been hidden away, or stolen; how people 
have been persecuted or burned at the stake 
for reading it; and how, even to this day, 
there are people who must conceal the book 
if they would have opportunity to look into 
its sacred pages. It is the old, old story of 
error’s hatred of Truth. 


14 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


The Old Testament, oriental and symbol¬ 
ical in style, grand and bold in its imagery and 
wonderful in its prophecies, was, and is, the 
sacred literature of the Jews, and Jews by 
birth or adoption have also written the books 
of the New Testament. 

Thus the book that stands first in literature 
and in its power to mold character, and the 
acceptance of which, in its entirety, has made 
the countries so accepting it the leading 
nations of the world, was given us by the 
Jews. 

When Israel studied the “ Book of the 
Law,” and lived close to its teachings, their 
prosperity was great; but too often it was 
neglected or hidden out of sight and then evil 
reigned. 

The preservation of this book of books has 
been wonderful when we consider the frag¬ 
mentary nature of the writings, their age, and 
how often they have fallen into careless keep¬ 
ing or into the hands of enemies; but in this 
the twentieth century it is still the “ Chart of 
Life ” to all who will obey its laws and it will 
soon be not only the greatest and best but the 
most earnestly studied book of the century. 


15 



The Story of Creation. 


This story is found in the book of Genesis 
and is a theory or explanation, and when we 
grow to understand it perfectly we will find 
it is a revelation of the origin of Life. 

No matter how much critics may disagree 
as to the date and authorship of the Penta¬ 
teuch, there is no doubt that Genesis contains 
some of the oldest writings that are of value 
to the world. 

In it there are two distinct records of Crea¬ 
tion evidently written at periods remote from 
each other and by minds widely differing in 
thought. One is called the Elohistic and the 
other the Jehovistic record. It seems to have 
been in the days of King Josiah that the differ¬ 
ent writings comprising our Bible, these two 
records among them, were welded together 
and added to, making one book. 

The date and authorship of the different 
parts are in debate, but the reasoning of 
yesterday is often thrown aside today, and 
it seems a matter of little importance com¬ 
pared with the spiritual import of the text. 

The teachings of the prophets are in ad- 


16 


THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


vance, morally and spiritually, of the “ Book 
of the Law,” but it was not until 1760 that a 
line of separation was really drawn between 
the Elohistic and the Jehovistic records; and 
the thinkers of today seem to be drawing 
nearer and nearer to the untangling of these 
different ideas. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob 
knew Him not by His name Jehovah. (Ex. 6: 
3). They evidently did not accept the Jeho¬ 
vistic record, if, indeed, they knew anything 
about it. 

The Elohistic record is given in the first 
chapter of Genesis and the first three verses 
of the second. Its style, although symbol¬ 
ical, is absolute, unadorned, grand in its sim¬ 
plicity, and is destined to stand through all 
time. Elohim means “ The Good,” Supreme 
Good, infinite and unerring. 

An idea is like the mind that produces it 
and the Creator’s work must be like Him, as 
this record shows it to be. Taking the whole 
chapter into consideration, it refers to eter¬ 
nal facts and their unfoldment to the exalted 
thought ready to perceive God’s way in that 
early age, as now and in all ages. 

Looking up the word “ beginning ” we 
find that it once had a poetic sense which is 
now quite obsolete. Outside of human affairs 
17 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


there can be no beginning. The origin of the 
word means “ to open ” and the author of this 
record writes with a poet’s license. “ In the 
beginning ” refers to the opening of the 
human consciousness to the understanding of 
the spiritual and perfect universe. All through 
the Old Testament writings, glimmerings of 
this understanding are seen, although the 
major portion is in line with the Jehovistic 
record. David sings, “ Thy Kingdom is an 
everlasting kingdom.” 

That which is everlasting has always been, 
and perfect knowledge never repents its work. 

“ God created.” In the old days one of the 
meanings of this word “ created ” was “ be¬ 
gotten,” “ brought forth,” which is _ much 
more reasonable than to understand the word 
“ create ” to mean making things out of 
nothing. God is Omnipresent Spirit so there 
never could be a place where “ nothing ” 
was. If God is changeless, as the Bible 
teaches, whatever He has brought forth He 
must have contained just as it is now and as 
it always will be. Man’s conception of God’s 
work is the only thing that can change. 

This record tells of a time of dense dark¬ 
ness and confusion. The book of Job, speak¬ 
ing of the earth at this period, represents God 
18 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


as saying, “ I made the cloud the garment 
thereof, and the thick darkness the swaddling 
band for it,” thus picturing the earth as a new¬ 
born babe in the hands of its mother, Love. 

The first mandate of Creative Mind was 
imperative. “ Let there be light, and there 
was light.” Light was there for God was 
there. As this was before the sun, moon and 
stars were revealed, it must have been the light 
of spiritual wisdom moving upon the dense 
darkness of universal confusion. This light 
was called the day and the darkness was 
called the night, and the evening and the 
morning were the first day. The Revised Ver¬ 
sion gives it, “And there was evening (a faint 
light) and there was morning (a clear light) 
one day,” and that day may have been, ac¬ 
cording to our calendar, millions of years; no 
man knoweth. 

And God said, “ Let there be a firmament 
in the midst of the waters and let it divide the 
waters from the waters.” And God called the 
firmament Heaven. In the long ago one 
meaning of firmament, now obsolete, was, 
“ fixed foundation,” a well established basis; 
and now a basic principle or working hypothe¬ 
sis was revealed and it was called heaven, 
harmony. Then this darkness and confusion, 

19 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


under the light of the Spirit began to take 
form and the dry land appeared. “And God 
called the dry land Earth and the gathering 
together of the waters called He Seas; and 
God saw that it was good.” 

The earth brought forth grass and shrubs 
and trees bearing fruit after their kind and 
God saw that it was good. And there was 
evening and there was morning, a third day. 

During the fourth day the sun, moon and 
stars came forth, and the book of Job, re¬ 
ferring to this period of Creation, says, 
“ Whereupon are the foundations thereof 
fastened ? or who laid the corner stone 
thereof; when the morning stars sang to¬ 
gether, and all the sons of God shouted for 
joy?” Isaiah foretells of a time when the 
solar system will be much better understood 
than now. He writes, “ Thy sun shall no 
more go down, neither shall thy moon with¬ 
draw itself.” 

At each advancing period God’s ideas seem 
to appear more rapidly, and now, during the 
fifth day, the waters and the air were filled 
with life, from the great leviathan to the 
tiniest mite, and from the soaring eagle to 
the many-hued insects that flit through the 
air like winged flowers for beauty. And God 
20 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


blessed them and saw that they were good 
and harmless and beautiful because good. 

The sixth day the earth began teeming with 
animals of every kind, great and small, walk¬ 
ing or creeping, but they were all good. 
Isaiah tells us that when man understands 
God and His creation, the lion will eat hay 
like the ox and all the strong things will be 
kind to the smaller ones, and little children 
will be safe and happy among things that now 
seem very fierce or poisonous (Isa. 11: 1-9). 
“ They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my 
holy mountain, for the earth shall be full of 
the knowledge of the Lord as the waters 
cover the sea/’ 

This same day the true man appears in the 
image and likeness of God, male and female 
at once, as Elohim is plural, but not in the 
sense of a man and a woman Creator, but 
as masculine Wisdom and feminine Love, 
which must be combined in man or woman to 
make the perfect image of a perfect God. 
This was the man to whom, was given 
dominion over all things in sea, air or earth; 
who was blessed by his Father, God, and told 
to multiply and replenish the earth. This, 
too, is the man to whom all the beautiful 
promises are made, which run like threads 
21 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


of gold through the Scriptures from Genesis 
to Revelation. 

The sixth day stands for that portion of 
time when the dawning consciousness of man 
grasped the idea of his true relationship to 
God, and which culminates in the Christian 
era as taught by the “ Prince of Peace,” and 
the Twentieth Century is the first faint dawn 
of the morning which will complete this 
period. 

This glorious morning will usher in the 
seventh day wherein is no evening, but men 
will know God as the everlasting light thereof. 
Blessed and sanctified is the Sabbath day. 


22 



The Rainbow. 


The Jehovistic record of Creation is an 
allegorical explanation of the origin of mortal 
or human existence. The Creator is called 
the Lord God or Jehovah, a very different 
conception of God than the Elohim of the first 
chapter of Genesis. 

In this record we are told a mist went up 
from the earth and watered the face of the 
ground, then out of the dust,—a symbol of 
contempt, “ a worthless thing,”—Jehovah 
made man and breathed into his nostrils the 
breath of life. This man was called Adam. He 
was placed in the garden of Eden to dress it 
and keep it. Jehovah told him he might 
eat of the fruit of every tree in the garden 
“ except the tree of knowledge of good and 
evil.” 

Adam was alone in the garden and Jehovah 
saw that it was not good for him to be alone, 
so a woman was formed and she was called 
Eve because she was to be the mother of all 
subsequent mankind. Woman seems to have 
been the product of Adam’s dream, for while 
23 


THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


Adam slept Jehovah took a rib from his side 
and made Eve. 

The garden of Eden was also called Para¬ 
dise, which means a place of perfect innocence 
and contentment. The garden brought 
forth of its own accord all that man needed; 
it was not only Paradise for the original man 
but it was typical of the time to come when 
man will, through obedience, be pure and holy 
and will live without toil or anxiety in a world 
of plenty, for the earth then will produce no 
thorns or thistles but only that which is beauti¬ 
ful and good. 

A river flowed through the country of Eden 
and was parted into four rivers, or heads, to 
water the garden, and one of these rivers was 
called the Euphrates, so well known in ancient 
literature that it was often called “ the river ” 
or “ the great river.” 

Eve knew that they were permitted to eat 
the fruit of all the trees of the garden, even 
the “ tree of life,” save one, the “ tree of 
knowledge of good and evil,” which Adam 
had been forbidden to touch,—for man was to 
know only the good. She also knew that 
Jehovah had assured Adam that, “ in the day 
thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die ”; 
but a strange thing occurred—a talking ser- 
24 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


pent, the most subtle of all the beasts of the 
fields, found his way into the garden and ap¬ 
proaching Eve, talked with and beguiled her. 
She ate of the fruit of the “ tree of knowledge 
of good and evil ” because it was pleasing to 
the sight and the serpent assured her it would 
make her wise. Not only did she eat of the 
forbidden fruit herself but she gave it to her 
husband and he did eat also. 

Disobedience then was the first sin, and im¬ 
mediately Adam and Eve were ashamed of the 
knowledge they had gained through wrong¬ 
doing. 

Realizing their nakedness they sewed fig 
leaves together and made themselves aprons 
and hid themselves among the trees. Jehovah, 
walking about the garden in the cool of the 
day, discovered their sin and shame and called 
to Adam, “ Where art thou ? ” Evil can never 
hide itself long, and in sorrow they heard 
Jehovah’s curse, “ In the sweat of thy face 
shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the 
ground; for out of it wast thou taken; for 
dust thou art and unto dust shalt thou return.” 
Jehovah also cursed the serpent, the symbol of 
evil, but he promised Eve that, although the 
serpent should bruise the heel of her offspring, 
they would bruise its head, that is, destroy the 
25 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


knowledge of evil,—then men will know only 
good and dwell again in the Paradise of the 
Lord. 

Jehovah, having first clothed them in coats 
of skins, drove Adam and Eve out of the gar¬ 
den, lest they should eat of the “ tree of life ” 
and then the knowledge of evil would become 
as immortal as the good. 

After the exile from Paradise, Adam’s old¬ 
est son, Cain, was born. His nature was evil, 
selfish, and wilful; but the second son, Abel, 
partook more of the knowledge of good for he 
was gentle and kind. Cain was a tiller of the 
soil, Abel a keeper of sheep, and it came to 
pass that Cain brought an offering to the 
Lord, of the fruit of the ground, and Abel 
brought also of the firstlings of his flock; but 
the Lord sees the heart of man and he had no 
respect for the offering of Cain but accepted 
the offering of the righteous Abel. This made 
Cain very angry and he slew his gentle 
brother as they talked together in the field. 
When the Lord spake to him and said, 
“ Where is thy brother ? ” he sullenly 
answered, “ I know not, am I my brother’s 
keeper?” But the Lord heard the voice of 
Abel which called to him from the ground 
and He cursed Cain and drove him from his 
26 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


home saying, “A fugitive and a vagabond 
shalt thou be in the earth.” The remorseful 
Cain, knowing that he would be hidden from 
the face of the Lord, was filled with fear lest 
any man finding him should kill him, and he 
answered, “ My punishment is greater than I 
can bear.” Then the Lord had mercy on Cain 
and set a mark on him that no one finding 
him should slay him. Those who have an evil 
heart are always hiding from the face of God 
and the mark of Cain is upon them but God’s 
mercy will eventually bring them unto safety 
and peace. 

After this bitter experience, when Adam 
was one hundred and thirty years old, another 
son in Adam’s own image and likeness was 
born, and they called his name Seth (Gen. 5: 
3). Seth partook of the nature of both good 
and evil and was “ a son of tumult ” as his 
name denotes,—for evil is ever at war,—and 
living this tempestuous life, Seth bequeathed 
to his posterity the fierce nature which 
brought upon them the curse of final destruc¬ 
tion. 

Since indulging in the knowledge of good 
and evil, Adam and his offspring had been 
displeasing in the sight of God. All through 
the Old Testament the “ man whose breath is 


27 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


in his nostrils ” is spoken of with contempt. 
He is likened to “ the dew which passeth 
away,” “ a cloud,” “ smoke from a chimney,” 
or “ chaff blown about by the wind,” and it 
is stated that all the children of Seth shall be 
destroyed (Micah 24: 7). Adam died when 
he was nine hundred and thirty years old. 
Men lived much longer in those early days 
than now. Methuselah, the oldest man on 
record, lived to be nine hundred and sixty 
years old. 

As time went on, the children of Seth be¬ 
came very numerous and were exceedingly 
wicked,—an inevitable result of misunder¬ 
standing God. There seems to have been for 
many generations but two good men among 
Adam’s children, the righteous Abel, and 
Enoch who walked with God and escaped 
death, “ for God took him.” This wise and 
good man had a great-grandson called Noah 
who found some favor with God, and he was 
instructed to build an ark of safety, as the 
world, from the very weight and blackness of 
its wickedness, would be destroyed. God said 
to Noah, “ The end of all flesh is come; for 
the earth is filled with violence through them. 
* * * And behold I, even I, do bring a 

flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all 
28 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


flesh, but with thee will I establish my 
covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, 
thou and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons’ 
wives with thee,” and according to all that 
God commanded Noah, so did he. 

The ark must have been a very interesting 
boat. It was built of Gopher wood, supposed 
to be a kind of cypress tree, and it was made 
water-proof with pitch within and without. It 
was three hundred cubits or four hundred and 
fifty feet long, fifty cubits or about seventy-five 
feet wide, and thirty cubits or about forty-five 
feet high. It was partitioned into rooms, and 
had lower, second and third stories or decks. 
It had a door in the side, and but one window. 

Seven days before it began to rain, this 
house-boat was ready, stored with all kinds of 
food, and Noah and his family went into the 
ark. In accord with God’s command, Noah 
also took into the ark all manner of beasts and 
birds and creeping things, two of each kind, 
but the clean beasts and birds he took in by 
sevens. Then in the six hundredth year of 
Noah’s life, in the second month and the 
seventeenth day of the month were all the 
fountains of the great deep broken up. The 
windows of heaven were opened, and the rain 
was upon the earth forty days and forty nights. 

29 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


The waters increased and bare up the ark, and 
it was lifted up above the earth and the ark 
floated upon the face of the waters for five 
months. God was with Noah and remembered 
him and the fountains of the great deep were 
stopped, the rain was restrained, the waters 
began to abate, and the ark rested upon the 
mountains of Ararat. 

Noah opened the window of the ark and 
sent out a raven, a bird noted for its sagacity, 
but the raven went to and fro, lighting upon 
any dead and floating thing, but brought no 
message to Noah. Then he sent out a dove, 
“ but the dove found no rest for the sole of 
her foot and she returned unto him into the 
ark, for the waters were upon the face of the 
whole earth.” Seven days later he sent the 
dove out again and in the evening she re¬ 
turned, “And lo, in her mouth was an olive 
leaf plucked off.” Then Noah knew the 
waters were abated. He waited seven days 
longer and sent the dove out again but she 
did not return. Noah removed the covering 
of the ark but he waited nearly two months 
for the ground to harden, then he and his 
family and all that were in the ark went forth. 

It was the good in Noah that saved him— 
his faint understanding of right that prompted 

30 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


him to obey “ the still small voice ” which he 
was enabled to hear because of his desire to 
be and to do good in God’s way. One of the 
first things Noah did after leaving the ark 
was to build an altar to the Lord and offer 
burnt offering of every clean beast. This was 
his highest sense of worship and it was self- 
sacrifice, for all flesh had been destroyed ex¬ 
cept that which had been saved in the ark. 

It was this self-denial, this willing obedience 
to his highest understanding of right, that 
was, to the Lord, “ a sweet savour ” or 
“ savour of rest ” and it did much toward 
making all time to come better for mankind. 

“And the Lord smelled a sweet savour, and 
the Lord said in his heart, I will not again 
curse the ground any more for man’s sake; 
for the imagination of man’s heart is evil from 
his youth, neither will I again smite any more 
every living thing as I have done. While the 
earth remaineth, seed time and harvest and 
cold and heat and summer and winter and day 
and night shall not cease.” 

“And God said, This is the token of the 
covenant which I make between me and you 
and every living creature that is with you for 
perpetual generations: I do set my bow in the 
cloud and it shall be for a token of a covenant 


31 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


between me and the earth and it shall come to 
pass that when I bring a cloud over the earth 
that a bow shall be seen in the cloud.” 

Even so it has been, the sunshine follows 
so closely the rain that it often glistens in the 
falling drops and the wonderful rainbow spans 
the clouds, a beautiful token of “ peace on 
earth good will toward man.” 


32 



Abraham and Isaac. 


After the flood, Noah and his three sons 
with their families left the ark and journeyed 
eastward. They settled on a plain in the 
land of Shinar where they began to make 
and to build with brick, using slime for mor¬ 
tar. 

Noah’s three sons were of greatly differ- 
ing types. Ham (which means black), be¬ 
cause of his low tendencies, was cursed of 
Noah, and the curse was made to rest upon 
his son Canaan, who was thus destined to be 
a servant to his brothers. Ham had one 
remarkable son, Nimrod, the mighty hunter, 
who went into Assyria and built the great 
city of Ninevah. 

Japheth (which means enlargement), be¬ 
came the father of the Aryan races. Noah 
said of this son, “ God shall enlarge Japheth, 
and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem, and 
Canaan shall be his servant.” Japheth’s de¬ 
scendants certainly have shared in the bene¬ 
fits Shem had to give. 

Shem, a name suggestive of fame, was the 
ancestor of Abram, whose descendants be- 
33 


THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


came God’s chosen people. Whatever may 
have been the order of their birth, the Bible 
always speaks of Noahs sons as Shem, Ham 
and Japheth. 

It would seem after the great goodness of 
the Lord in preserving Noah and his family 
from the flood which had swept away all 
other living things, that their descendants 
would have trusted Him and believed the 
sweet promise of the bow in the clouds; but 
after a time they forgot everything except 
their fears. Said they, “ Go to, let us build 
us a city and a tower, whose top may reach 
unto heaven, and let us make us a name lest 
we be scattered abroad upon the face of the 
whole earth.” Now this was just what they 
had to do, they had to re-people the whole 
earth, and if they had lived on trusting God 
and obeying Him according to their highest 
understanding, always willing to listen and 
learn higher thoughts and better ways, it 
would all have come about naturally, lovingly, 
and peace and harmony would have reigned 
through all the ages after the flood. Their 
self-will and disobedience only hastened what 
seemed to them a great calamity. They were 
not working according to their highest sense 
of right, were not willing to be instructed of 

34 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


God,—in other words, were not working ac¬ 
cording to Principle. Principle always looks 
after affairs, whether man likes it or not, and 
sooner or later we must all reckon with the 
principle of right, for God is everywhere and 
right is of Him. “And the Lord came down 
to see the city and the tower which the chil¬ 
dren of men builded,” and God saw that they 
would go on from vanity to vanity so long as 
they lived together and spoke the same lan¬ 
guage. He said, “ Go to, let us go down and 
there confound their language that they may 
not understand one another’s speech.” So it 
always is, evil doers never understand each 
other and confusion and discord reign. Each 
evil mind is striving unconsciously to build a 
tower, wherein to work out its own plans, 
making for itself a name and seeking its own 
ways. “ So the Lord scattered them abroad 
from thence upon the face of the earth, and 
they left off to build the city. Therefore is 
the name of it called Babel.” This word has 
two meanings, “ confusion ” and “ Gate of 
God,” for this city served two purposes, to 
reprove man’s self-will and pride and to open 
the way for a higher and nobler life. 

Nearly three hundred years after the flood 
Abram was bom to the house of Shem. 


35 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


Abram means “ exaltation,” and this son was 
destined to be exalted. His leading charac¬ 
teristics were kindness, gentleness, and un¬ 
questioning obedience to the voice of God. 
He became the father of a multitude of peo¬ 
ple, prophets, seers and kings, to whom we 
are indebted for the greater part of the 
world’s most wonderful book, the Bible. 

Abram, at the call of God, with his nephew 
Lot and their families, left Mesopotamia, the 
land of their kindred, and journeyed toward 
the south to the land of Canaan. But when 
they reached it, there was a great famine in 
this promised land and Abram went to Bethel 
and built an altar to the Lord and called on 
the name of the Lord; then journeyed on, 
still going south, into the land of Egypt. 
Here they lived until the famine was over, 
then went back to Bethel and dwelt together 
until their flocks and herds became so large 
that there was confusion among their herds¬ 
men. 

Abram was very rich in cattle, gold and 
silver, while Lot had large possessions also. 
The peace-loving Abram said to Lot, “ Let 
there be no strife, I pray thee, between me 
and thee and between thy herdsmen and my 
herdsmen, for we are brethren. Is not the 

36 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


whole land before thee? Separate thyself, I 
pray thee, from me. If thou wilt take the 
left hand, then I will go to the right hand; or 
if thou depart to the right hand, then I will 
go to the left.” And Lot lifted up his eyes 
and saw the great plain of Jordan, well 
watered and fertile and he dwelt there, east of 
Bethel, and Abram went to the plain of 
Mamre, among the oaks of Hebron. 

After this there was a wide-spread re¬ 
bellion called the “ Battle of the Kings,” that 
swept over the plain of Jordan and Lot was 
taken captive. When Abram heard it he 
took his trained men, fought his way to Lot, 
and rescued him with all his people and goods, 
but refused to share in the spoils of war. 
He had fought to rescue Lot, not for greed 
or revenge. Abram was always kind; his 
unselfish goodness was his greatness and the 
cause of his prosperity. As Abram returned 
from the slaughter of the kings, Melchizedek 
(King of Righteousness), who was the king 
of Salem (peace), went out to meet him. 
Melchizedek was also a priest of the Most 
High God. He gave Abram bread and wine 
and blessed him. 

When it was revealed to Abram by the 
Angel of the Lord that Sodom and Gomorrah 
37 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


were to be destroyed, Abram plead with God 
for the righteous people among the wicked 
dwellers of the cities of the plain, but there 
were not found even ten men in these wicked 
cities whose lives were worth saving. 

In the morning after Abram had talked 
with the angel of the Lord, he looked toward 
the doomed cities and the smoke of them went 
up like the smoke from a furnace, but the 
Lord remembered Lot because Abram loved 
him, and sent him and as many of his family 
as would listen to him out of the cities that 
were to be destroyed. 

They were told to flee for their lives and 
not to look back. Lot and his daughters 
obeyed, but Lot’s wife, grieving for the 
friends left behind, or perhaps regretting the 
loss of her city home with its luxury, looked 
back, and was turned into a pillar of salt. 
Lot’s great wealth was all destroyed in the 
burning cities and he and his two daughters 
went up into a mountain and dwelt in a cave. 

Abram grew nearer God as the years went 
on. He had one son, Ishmael, the child of 
Hagar, an Egyptian bond-woman, who was 
destined to become a wild man, his hand 
against every man, and every man’s hand 
38 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


against him. When Abram was ninety and 
nine years old, the Lord appeared unto him 
and said, “ I am the Almighty God; walk be¬ 
fore me and be thou perfect.” Then his name 
was changed to Abraham, “ the father of a 
multitude.” 

Abram’s wife, Sarai (meaning conten¬ 
tious), was a proud and rebellious woman 
and bitterly she suffered from chastisement 
for following her own way. So while Abra¬ 
ham grew in wisdom through the grace of 
obedience, she also grew wise through her 
sad experience. Then her name also was 
changed to Sarah (princess), and she was 
given a little son Isaac, who was to grow up 
gentle and obedient, like his father, and be¬ 
come a fit channel for the fulfillment of God’s 
great promise to Abraham. He was bom to 
them in their old age and was like “ the apple 
of their eye,” but Abraham was to be very 
severely tested to see if he loved God enough 
to give Him this beloved son. 

One day God called Abraham, and he 
answered, “ Here am I,” and the Lord said, 
“ Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, 
whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land 
of Moriah and offer him there for a burnt 
offering upon one cf the mountains which I 
39 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


will tell thee of.” And Abraham hesitated 
not but hastened to obey. 

When Abraham saw the place appointed, 
he left those who were with him, taking only 
Isaac. He laid the wood for the burnt offer¬ 
ing upon his son’s dear shoulders, and taking 
a firebrand in one hand and a long sharp 
knife in the other, they started off together. 

Then Isaac said, “ My father! ” and he 
answered, “ Here am I,” and Isaac said, 
“ Behold the fire and the wood, but where is 
the lamb for a burnt offering ? ” And Abra¬ 
ham said, “ My son, God will provide a lamb 
for the burnt offering.” Abraham built an 
altar and placed upon it the wood, and bound 
Isaac, and laid him upon the wood and raised 
the knife to slay him. No word of remon¬ 
strance or complaint from either father or 
son, only obedience, awe-inspiring obedience, 
but ere the hand descended with the knife, 
the same voice called, “ Lay not thy hand 
upon the lad,” and looking about, Abraham 
saw a ram caught by the horns in the bushes, 
and he unbound Isaac and put the ram in his 
place. 

Then came a renewal of God’s great prom¬ 
ise to Abraham and his descendant race, and 
the simple but wonderful reason why the 

40 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


promise could be made, “And in thy seed 
shall all nations of the earth be blessed, be¬ 
cause thou hast obeyed my voice.” More 
clearly, more plainly, more sweetly as the 
years go by, comes the call of God to all who 
are willing to listen and to obey as Abraham 
of old. 

Sarah, Abraham’s wife and Isaac’s mother, 
died in Hebron and was buried by loving 
hands. After a while, Abraham married 
again, Keturah, who was the mother of six 
sons. All of them left home and each of them 
founded a distinct tribe, scattering themselves 
over Arabia. Isaac, the child of promise, 
inherited all his father’s wealth, and when 
Abraham died at the age of one hundred and 
seventy-five years, he and his half-brother 
Ishmael buried him beside Sarah, Isaac’s 
mother. 

When Abraham was growing old, he 
wanted to see his son Isaac married and 
settled in the land where he and Sarah had 
lived, in accordance with the directions and 
promises of the Lord. He did not want him 
to marry any of the women of Canaan, 
neither did he want Isaac to go away from 
home to choose a wife. He sent, therefore, 
his trusted servant back to Mesopotamia, his 

41 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


own country, to select a wife for Isaac from 
among his own people. This servant was so 
trustworthy that all Abraham’s goods were 
in his care, and he took ten camels and gold 
and silver and beautiful gifts and went to 
Mesopotamia into the city of Nahor. He 
made his camels kneel down outside the city, 
by the well of water, at the time of evening, 
even the time that the women go out to draw 
water. And he said, “ O Lord God of my 
master Abraham, I pray thee send me good 
speed this day, and show kindness unto my 
master Abraham. Behold, I stand here by 
this well of water, and the daughters of the 
men of the city come out to draw water, and 
let it come to pass that the damsel to whom 
I shall say, ‘ Let down thy pitcher, I pray 
thee, that I may drink,’ and who shall say, 
* Drink! and I will give thy camels drink also,’ 
let the same be she that thou hast appointed 
for thy servant Isaac, and thereby shall I 
know that thou hast shown kindness unto my 
master.” 

The prayer was hardly finished when a 
beautiful girl came to the well with her 
pitcher, and she gave him to drink and 
watered all his camels. This proved to be 
Rebecca, whose gentleness and grace rather 
42 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


than her beauty, marked her as the one whom 
God had chosen to be the mother of great and 
wise men. Painters and poets have ever loved 
the theme, “ Rebecca at the well. ,, 


43 



Jacob. 


Isaac and Rebecca had two sons, twin 
brothers, Esau and Jacob. Esau was a hairy 
man, rough and sensual; but Jacob, beloved 
of his mother, was destined to leave home as 
his grandfather before him and to be fitted 
to fulfill God’s promise to Abraham. 
Esau’s love of self drew upon him a great 
loss. Because he was hungry he sold his 
birthright to Jacob for a dish of bread and 
a “ pottage of lentils.” As he did not intend 
to keep his promise and pay the debt, Rebecca 
devised a way to gain the birthright Jacob 
had bought and which she greatly desired for 
her favorite son. 

Isaac favored Esau, but the love Rebecca 
bore Jacob was deeper and had a better 
foundation. Isaac’s love for Esau was great 
because Esau was a successful hunter and 
supplied his father with venison, of which 
he was very fond. Rebecca overheard Isaac 
telling Esau that if he would get venison and 
bring him his favorite dish, he would then 
receive his blessing, which meant, in those 
days, much more than mere words. Rebecca 
44 


THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


knew that if her favorite son, the one most 
worthy to be heir to the great promise given 
to Abraham, was to claim the birthright Esau 
had sold him, she must act quickly. 

Sending for two kids from the flock, she 
prepared the savory dish Isaac loved so well, 
and clothing Jacob in Esau's best robe, she 
covered his arms and neck with the skin of 
the kids to imitate the hairy flesh of Esau. 

Isaac's dim eyes were deceived, and al¬ 
though mystified by Jacob’s voice, his feeble 
hands wandered over Jacob’s hands and neck 
and robe and he was satisfied. 

Very shortly after Esau came and bitter 
was his anger when he found that his brother, 
by fraud, had outwitted him. Jacob means 
supplanter, and Esau said, forgetting that he 
had himself sold his birthright, “ Is he not 
rightly named Jacob, for he hath supplanted 
me these two times. He took away my birth¬ 
right, and behold, now he hath taken away 
my blessing." He did not recognize that in 
selling his birthright he also gave up his right 
to the blessing. “And he said, hast thou not 
reserved a blessing for me?" And Isaac 
sadly answered, “ Behold, I have made him 
thy lord, and all thy brethren have I given 
him for servants and with corn and wine have 


45 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


I sustained him, and what shall I do now 
unto thee, my son ? ” And Esau said, “ Hast 
thou but one blessing, my father? Bless me, 
even me, O my father! ” And he lifted up 
his voice and wept. Then Isaac said to him, 
“ Behold, thy dwelling shall be the fatness of 
the earth, and of the dew of heaven from 
above, and by thy sword shalt thou live and 
shalt serve thy brother, and it shall come to 
pass when thou shalt have thy dominion that 
thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck.” 
This afterward happened. 

Esau was very angry and purposed in his 
heart to slay Jacob, but Rebecca cast about 
in her mind to find a way to save him. Isaac's 
love for his wife had been faithful, tender and 
true; in his old age there was nothing he 
would deny her. Rebecca did not want to 
trouble his declining years with Esau's bitter 
hatred and desired that Jacob’s departure 
from home should be peaceful and with his 
father’s kindly consent. She told Isaac how 
troubled she was about Jacob’s future wife, 
how her life was miserable for fear he would 
marry beneath him; and her desire to send 
him among her own people in a far-off coun¬ 
try. Isaac consented and Jacob departed in 
peace. After leaving home he had a wonder- 
46 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


ful dream which affected his whole life, as 
we shall see later. 

Jacob went to visit his uncle, Laban, and 
met his cousins, Leah and Rachel. Laban 
urged him to remain and help him with his 
flocks. Then Jacob told him of his love for 
his youngest daughter, Rachel, and offered to 
work for him seven years, if, at the end 
of that time Rachel would be given to him as 
his wife. Laban agreed to this proposal, but 
at the end of the seven years of hard labor, he 
refused to permit his younger daughter to 
marry before her older sister. Disappointed, 
but faithful, Jacob had to marry Leah and 
work seven more years for Rachel. 

Laban was very exacting, and finally Jacob 
became weary of his uncle’s greed and un¬ 
kindness. The measure of Jacob’s deceit 
which he had measured out to his brother 
Esau was measured out to him, heaped up 
and running over. Now he was about to 
suffer the most bitter part of it all, for he 
had made up his mind to leave Laban and be 
friends with his brother Esau, asking him to 
forgive and forget the past. This required a 
great sacrifice of self, which, however, lifted 
Jacob into the spiritual understanding of the 
omnipotence and omnipresence of God’s love. 

47 




THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


He took his wives and children, who were 
not unwilling to go, his portion of the flocks 
and herds, his household goods and servants 
and departed secretly while Laban was away. 
When Laban knew Jacob had gone he hotly 
pursued him and overtaking him, searched 
their goods, accusing Jacob of stealing their 
gods. 

It must be remembered that this was in the 
days of heathen understanding and heathen 
gods, nor had the law, “ Thou shalt not steal ” 
been written. Rachel really had stolen one of 
her father’s images but Jacob did not know it. 
She had so cunningly hidden it that it could 
not be found. Then Laban and Jacob had 
angry words and Jacob said, “ Thus have I 
been twenty years in thy house; I served thee 
fourteen years for thy two daughters and six 
years for thy cattle and thou hast changed my 
wages ten times. Except the God of my 
father, the God of Abraham and the fear of 
Isaac (companionship of Isaac’s teaching) 
had been with me, surely thou hadst sent me 
empty away.” 

Laban apparently saw the justice of Jacob’s 
complaint and began to relent. He said to 
Jacob, “ These daughters are my daughters 
and these children are my children and these 
48 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


cattle are my cattle and all that thou seest is 
mine; and what can I do this day unto these 
my daughters and unto these children which 
they have borne? Now therefore come thou, 
let us make a covenant, I and thou, and let it 
be for a witness between me and thee.’ , So 
Jacob took a stone and set it up for a pillar 
and he told every one to bring a stone and 
add to it, and then they ate upon it and Jacob 
called it Galeed, which means a heap of wit¬ 
nesses, but Laban called it Mizpah, for, said 
he, “ The Lord watch between me and thee 
when we are absent one from the other.” 
And they spent the night in offering sacri¬ 
fices and making promises not to pass that 
pile of stones to do each other harm. Early 
in the morning Laban rose up and kissed his 
daughters and blessed them, and, departing, 
went unto his own place. 

When Jacob had first left his father’s house 
and journeyed toward Haran, he lay down at 
night, using a stone for a pillow, and he slept 
and dreamed, “And behold a ladder set up 
on the earth and the top of it reached to 
heaven; and behold the angels of God ascend¬ 
ing and descending. And behold the Lord 
stood above it and said, “ I am the Lord the 
God of Abraham and the God of Isaac: the 


49 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give 
it and to thy seed; and thy seed shall be as 
the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread 
abroad to the West and to the East, and to 
the North and to the South; and in thee and 
in thy seed shall all the families of the earth 
be blessed; and behold I am with thee and 
will keep thee whithersoever thou goest and 
will bring thee again into this land: for I 
will not leave thee until I have done that 
which I have spoken to thee of.” When Jacob 
wakened out of his sleep he said, “ Surely the 
Lord is in this place and I knew it not.” 

“ He was afraid and said, How dreadful is 
this place. This is none other but the house 
of God and this is the gate of heaven. And 
Jacob rose up early in the morning and took 
the stone that he had put under his head and 
set it up for a pillar and he poured oil upon 
the top of it and called the name of that place 
Bethel” (house of God). 

Before leaving Laban, Jacob had been im¬ 
pressed with the justice and necessity of be¬ 
ing at peace with his brother Esau. This 
was indeed the voice of God directing him. 
As he journeyed on a host of good thoughts 
descending and ascending between God and 
himself proved to be messages and messen- 
50 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


gers of love. Regret for his own deceitful¬ 
ness and a desire to make amends, the 
assurance that he felt that the God of Abra¬ 
ham and Isaac was with him and would 
preserve him and his people to be a great and 
prosperous people was the renewal of God’s 
promise to him. 

When Esau heard of Jacob’s coming, he 
started out to meet him with four hundred 
men, which had the appearance of a very war¬ 
like reception. Then Jacob was greatly 
afraid and distressed. He clearly understood 
now that his own sins, craftiness, deceit, 
avarice and lack of love for his weaker 
brother were far greater sins in the sight of 
God than Esau’s anger and hatred. Because 
he had been the stronger, morally, and the 
wiser, he should have shielded his brother in¬ 
stead of cheating him. Weakly yielding to 
temptation will always bring punishment, but 
deliberate hypocrisy will cause far greater 
suffering. So while the stolid Esau had gone 
on nursing his wrath and was, perhaps, glad 
the day of reckoning was at hand, the 
conscience-stricken Jacob was filled with fear, 
for he did not yet see the absolute power of 
Love to conquer hatred. 

Jacob selected the finest and best*- of his 
61 




THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


horses and camels and sent them in groups 
by trusty messengers, as peace-offerings 
which were to meet Esau one by one, always 
with the same message, “ They be thy servant 
Jacob’s, it is a present sent unto my lord Esau 
and behold he also is behind us.” Thus was 
Esau’s heart to be softened toward a brother 
who had robbed him of a birthright he was 
unworthy to hold. 

However, Jacob’s greatest battle was to be 
fought alone, on the banks of the brook 
Jabbok, after he had sent all that were with 
him across to the other side. Then his past 
sins, mighty with their bitterness of self, of 
shame and fear, took possession of him, and 
the evil and the good stood out as men to 
wrestle with each other. 

Jacob had realized the evil in himself and 
had earnestly repented and taken steps for 
reformation, so that now his greatest sin was 
a fear of the power of evil,—consequently a 
lack of faith in the power of God,—for Jacob 
had not yet heard the voice proclaiming, 
“ There is naught beside me.” The angel 
Truth strove with Jacob’s fears and “touched 
the hollow of his thigh” (the strength of his 
ignorance), and it was “out of joint,” it lost 
its power; “ and the day began to break,” the 

52 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


light of spiritual understanding began to 
dawn, Jacob’s fears were destroyed and he 
was at peace. Then his name was changed 
from Jacob (usurper) to Israel (soldier of 
God) for he had overcome the evil with good. 
Long afterward God said, “ Israel is my son, 
even my first born.” Jacob called the place 
Peniel, or “ Face of God,” for said he, “ I 
have seen God face to face and my life is pre¬ 
served.” This was before he met Esau and 
his men, and it proved how perfectly his fears 
were destroyed and his faith restored. 

When Jacob saw Esau coming, he went to 
meet him and Esau ran to meet Jacob. After 
they had embraced, Esau was presented to all 
the women and children. It was a joyous re¬ 
union. Esau declined the gifts Jacob sent 
him, saying he had enough, but finally ac¬ 
cepted because Jacob urged it as a sign of 
forgiveness. True it is that sometimes it 
requires a sacrifice of self to receive as well 
as to give. So peace and prosperity reigned 
where discord and strife had been, and this 
will always be when evil is overcome of good. 


53 



Joseph. 


Jacob’s affection for Rachel is the story of 
patient, self-sacrificing love; and after many 
years when Jacob had repented his evil ways 
and tried to make amends for his wrong¬ 
doing, when Rachel had grown older and 
wiser, less anxious and proud, a son was born 
to them and they called him Joseph. Jacob 
loved him better than all his other children, 
for he was good and wise for his years and 
he was Rachel’s first-born. 

Jacob gave Joseph a “ coat of many colors,” 
that is, an embroidered robe, such as were 
worn by the children of kings. “And when 
his father loved him more than all his breth¬ 
ren, they hated him and could not speak 
peaceable unto him.” At this time, Joseph 
was seventeen years old and he dreamed a 
dream and told his brothers, “ Behold, we 
were binding sheaves in the field, and lo, my 
sheaf arose and stood upright; and, behold, 
your sheaves stood round about, and made 
obeisance to my sheaf.” His brethren said to 
him, “ Shalt thou indeed reign over us, or 
shalt thou indeed have dominion over us ? ” 

54 


THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


And they hated him yet the more, for his 
dreams and for his words. And he dreamed 
yet another dream and told it to his brethren 
and said, “ Behold, I have dreamed a dream 
more, and behold, the sun and the moon and 
the eleven stars made obeisance unto me.” 
And he told it to his father and to his breth¬ 
ren, and his father rebuked him, and said unto 
him, “ What dream is this thou hast dreamed ? 
Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren come 
indeed to bow down ourselves to thee to the 
earth ?” And his brethren envied him, but 
his father observed the saying. 

Jacob remembered Isaac’s blessing, how he 
had said, “ Therefore God give thee of the 
dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, 
and plenty of corn and wine; let people serve 
thee and nations bow down to thee; be lord 
over thy brethren and let thy mother’s sons 
bow down to thee; cursed be every one who 
curseth thee; and blessed be every one who 
blesseth thee.” Soon after this, Jacob sent 
Joseph to find his brothers as they were tend¬ 
ing their flocks, and to come again and tell 
him how they were. 

When his brothers saw him coming they 
said, “Behold this dreamer cometh, come 
now, therefore, and let us slay him and cast 
55 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


him into a pit and we will say some evil beast 
hath devoured him; and we shall see what 
will become of his dreams.” But Reuben was 
better than the rest; he told them not to kill 
Joseph but to put him in a pit that was near 
by. He thought he would go after awhile, 
and take his brother out and save him. Then 
they took Joseph and stripped off his beauti¬ 
ful coat and put him into the empty pit. After 
awhile they saw a company of Ishmaelites of 
Gilead on their way down to Egypt with 
camels laden with spices, balm and myrrh. 
Judah thought he saw a chance for gain and 
a way to rid themselves of Joseph’s hated 
presence without killing him, and he said, 
“What profit is it that we slay our brother 
and conceal his blood? Come let us sell him 
to the Ishmaelites and let not our hand be 
upon him; for he is our brother and our 
flesh.” And his brethren were content. They 
sold him for twenty pieces of silver and 
Joseph was taken to Egypt. They did not let 
Reuben know they had sold him, so when he 
came to the pit and found it empty, he rent 
his clothes. This rending of the clothes was 
an Eastern expression of sorrow, confusion 
and dismay. He said to his brothers, “ The 
child is not; and I, whither shall I go ? ” The 
56 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


other brothers tore Joseph’s coat and dipped 
it in the blood of a kid. They took it to their 
father and said they had found it thus. 

Jacob knew the coat and supposed some 
wild beast had devoured Joseph. He clothed 
himself in sackcloth and mourned for his 
son, and refused to be comforted. He said, 
“ I will go down into the grave unto my son 
mourning.” Rachel died, leaving a little son 
Benjamin, so Jacob was doubly bereaved. 

Joseph was sold in Egypt to Potiphar, an 
officer of Pharaoh, the king. Potiphar soon 
saw that the Lord was with Joseph for all 
that he did prospered. He made him over¬ 
seer of all that he had and the Lord blessed 
the Egyptian house for Joseph’s sake. 

Potiphar’s wife was a wicked woman, and 
was always trying to make Joseph act dis¬ 
honestly toward the master of the house. 
Joseph was afraid of her wickedness and 
would try to keep away from her; but once 
she caught him by the coat and he threw it 
off and ran away without it. So again 
Joseph’s coat got him into trouble, for this 
wicked woman told Potiphar that she had 
found Joseph acting dishonestly and that he 
ran away so hastily that he left his coat, 
57 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


which she kept as proof against him. Poti- 
phar put Joseph in the prison where the pris¬ 
oners of the king were kept. Yet the Lord 
was with Joseph; he was soon recognized as 
a good man and was put in charge of all the 
prisoners. One day two prisoners were 
brought in, the chief butler and the chief 
baker of the king, and they were under 
Joseph’s care. They both dreamed the same 
night and were troubled about their dreams. 
In the morning Joseph noticed it and said, 
“ Wherefore look ye so sadly today ? ” They 
answered, “We have dreamed a dream and 
there is no one to interpret it.” Joseph said, 
“ Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell 
me them, I pray you.” Then the butler said, 
“ Behold a vine was before me, and in the 
vine were three branches, and it was as 
though it budded, and its blossoms shot forth; 
and the clusters thereof brought forth ripe 
grapes. And Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand: 
and I took the grapes and pressed them into 
Pharaoh’s cup, and I gave the cup into 
Pharaoh’s hand.” Then Joseph told him that 
in three days Pharaoh would release him 
from prison and he would again bear 
Pharaoh’s cup as of old. Moreover Joseph 
said to him, “ Think on me when it shall be 

58 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


well with thee, and make mention of me unto 
Pharaoh and bring me out of this house/’ 

The baker thought his dream must mean 
something good, too, so he hastened to tell 
Joseph that in his dream he had three white 
baskets on his head, and the top one was filled 
“ with all manner of bakements for Pharaoh,” 
but the birds flew down and ate them all out 
of the basket. Joseph told him the three bas¬ 
kets were three days; in that time Pharaoh 
would have his head taken off and hang him 
on a tree and the birds would eat his flesh. 
The baker was no doubt guilty, and so cruel 
were they in those days that such punishments 
were often ordered, even for small offenses. 
In three days it came about as Joseph had 
said, but the chief butler forgot all about 
Joseph when he was happy and back in his 
old place again. 

Two full years after this Pharaoh dreamed 
also and was troubled about his dream. He 
called all the wise men of Egypt, but none 
could tell him the interpretation of his dream. 
Then the butler remembered Joseph and told 
the king how truly everything Joseph said 
came to pass concerning his dream and the 
dream of the chief baker. Pharaoh sent for 
Joseph and he prepared himself for the king’s 
59 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


presence, and stood before Pharaoh. The 
king told Joseph he was troubled about a 
dream that no one had been able to interpret. 
Joseph knew that all power and all wisdom 
were in God and he was always ready to give 
God the glory, so he said, “ It is not in me; 
God shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace.” 

Then Pharaoh told Joseph his dream, say¬ 
ing, “ In my dream, behold, I stood upon the 
bank of a river, and behold, there came out 
of the river seven kine fat fleshed and well 
favoured; and they fed in the meadow, and 
behold, seven other kine came up after them, 
poor and very ill favoured and lean fleshed, 
such as I never saw in the land of Egypt for 
badness, and the lean and ill favoured kine 
did eat up the first seven fat kine, and when 
they had eaten them up, it could not be known 
that they had eaten them, but they were still 
ill favoured as at the beginning, so I awoke. 
And I saw in my dream and behold, seven 
ears came up in one stalk, full and good: and 
behold, seven ears, withered, thin and blasted 
with the east wind, sprang up after them and 
the thin ears devoured the good ears.” 

Then Joseph told Pharaoh that God had 
shown him what was about to happen and what 
Pharaoh should do. That the two dreams 
.60 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


were one and there would be seven years of 
great plenty, followed by seven years of 
famine. He said the dream was doubled so 
Pharaoh would be sure what would happen 
and prepare for it. Joseph told Pharaoh to 
choose a man “ discreet and wise ” to be over 
all the land of Egypt, and let him appoint 
officers and gather up a fifth part of the 
produce of the seven years of plenty and store 
it away for the seven years of famine. And 
Pharaoh said unto Joseph, “ Forasmuch as 
God hath shewed thee all this, there is none so 
discreet and wise as thou art; thou shalt be 
over my house, and according unto thy word 
shall all my people be ruled; only in the throne 
will I be greater than thou.” Pharaoh set 
Joseph over all the land of Egypt, and put his 
signet ring from his own hand upon Joseph’s 
hand, and had him arrayed in fine linen. He 
put a gold chain about his neck and gave him 
the second chariot, the one next his own, for 
his use. They cried before him, “ Bow the 
knee.” So Joseph was made ruler over all the 
land of Egypt. Pharaoh said unto Joseph, “ I 
am Pharaoh, and without thee shall no man lift 
up his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.” 
The Egyptians held in the utmost contempt 
all those whose occupation was tending flocks, 
61 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


and here was the youthful Joseph, the son of 
a shepherd, who had stood before the great 
king Pharaoh (which means the sun), as his 
adviser, and had been given the post of high¬ 
est honor and trust, even next to Pharaoh 
himself. 

When Joseph became ruler over Egypt, 
Pharaoh gave him a wife who was the daugh¬ 
ter of a priest, and Joseph had a home of his 
own. During the seven years of plenty, the 
land yielded so abundantly that Joseph found 
it impossible to number the quantity he put 
up, for he saved all the surplus of all the land 
about every city, “ store-houses filled beyond 
measure. ,, 

During these seven years Joseph and his 
wife, Asenath, had two sons born to them. 
The elder son he named Manasseh, and the 
younger he called Ephraim, for God had 
made him forget all his troubles and all his 
afflictions. 

Then came the years of dearth; famine was 
over all the country, the people cried to 
Pharaoh for bread, and Pharaoh sent them to 
Joseph, and the Egyptians and all nations 
came to him to buy bread. Famine was also 
over the land where Joseph's father lived, and 
Jacob, or Israel, as he was now called, sent 
62 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


his ten sons down to Egypt to buy corn; but 
he kept Benjamin, Joseph’s younger brother, 
at home for fear some evil would befall him. 
When Israel’s ten sons came to Egypt, they 
were sent to Joseph and he knew them, but 
they did not know him. He intended to give 
them corn, but at first he spoke roughly to 
them and pretended to believe them spies. 
He wanted to hear many things about his 
father, his home and his country. They plead 
with Joseph and told him they were all the 
sons of one man; that there had been twelve 
sons but their youngest brother was at home 
and the other “was not.” Joseph insisted 
they were spies and said, “ By the life of 
Pharaoh, ye shall not go forth hence except 
your youngest brother come hither.” Thus 
they would prove their honesty. 

Joseph talked with them through an inter¬ 
preter and they did not know that he under¬ 
stood their language as they talked together. 
They said they were being tried for destroy¬ 
ing their brother Joseph, and they recalled 
how he plead with them not to kill him and 
not to sell him. Said Reuben, “ Spake I not 
unto you, saying, do not sin against the child; 
and ye would not hear? therefore behold, 
also his blood is required.” 

63 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


Joseph had to turn away his head and weep, 
but his men took Simeon, one of their num¬ 
ber, and bound him before their eyes and kept 
him in prison and sent the rest away. 

Joseph had commanded that their sacks be 
filled with corn, and that every man's money 
be put back into the sack, and that they be 
given provisions for their journey. When 
they found the money in the mouth of each 
man’s sack, they were afraid. They told their 
father that the man who was the lord over 
all the country spoke roughly to them and 
took them for spies, and told them to bring 
Benjamin that he might know that they were 
speaking the truth. Jacob refused, saying, 
“ Then shall ye bring down my gray hairs in 
sorrow to the grave.” After a time the com 
was all gone, and Jacob told them to take 
double money and spices, myrrh and nuts as 
a gift to the ruler, and to take their youngest 
brother, even Benjamin, and go for corn, that 
they might live and not die. “And God Al¬ 
mighty give you mercy before the man that 
he may release your other brother and Ben¬ 
jamin. If I am bereaved of my children, I 
am bereaved.” 

When Joseph found they had returned, he 
made a feast and told his servants that these 


64 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


men were to dine with him. Joseph’s servant 
received them saying, “ Fear not! Peace be 
to you.” They gave Joseph the presents they 
had brought and bowed themselves to the 
earth before him. He inquired about their 
father, “ the old man of whom they had 
spoken.” Then the eleven sons of Jacob dined 
with the great ruler of Egypt, not knowing 
he was their brother. 

When their sacks were filled with corn, 
Joseph had a silver cup put into the mouth of 
Benjamin’s sack. After they had gone a short 
distance the steward overtook them and the 
cup was found in Benjamin’s sack. They all 
returned to the city and went directly to 
Joseph, who was yet at home. They knelt be¬ 
fore him and confessed how wicked they had 
been. Now they had no way to clear them¬ 
selves in his eyes, and they were his servants, 
all of them. Joseph, however, demanded the 
one who had the cup, and said the rest should 
go back to their father with the corn. Then 
Judah came near Joseph and begged to speak 
with him privately. He plead with him that 
he would not be angry, and told him how his 
father loved Benjamin. He said his father 
was old and would surely die if they went 
back without the lad, and they would bring 
65 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


his grey hairs in sorrow to the grave. Judah 
begged him to keep him instead of his brother 
for the sake of their old father, for Benjamin 
was the only son of his father’s wife whom he 
loved. 

Joseph could conceal his feelings no longer; 
he sent all the Egyptians out of the room and 
made himself known to his brothers, saying, 
“ I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold 
into Egypt.” He told them not to grieve nor 
to blame themselves except for unkind mo¬ 
tives, for he had been sent before them to 
preserve life. He told them there would be 
seven years of famine, and only two had past, 
but there would be plenty of food for all. He 
said, “ So now, it was not you who sent me 
hither, but God, and he hath made me a 
father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, 
and ruler throughout the land of Egypt. 
Haste ye and go up to my father and say unto 
him, thus saith thy son Joseph: God hath 
made me lord of all Egypt: come down unto 
me, tarry not.” He told them to bring all 
their families and flocks, and they should 
dwell in the land of Goshen and he would 
feed them. Then he embraced his brother 
Benjamin and kissed them all and they talked 
together. When Pharaoh heard the story he 
66 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


was pleased, and told them to take wagons 
out of Egypt for their father and their women 
and children, and they should have the best 
in the land. 

When Joseph knew they were coming, he 
took his chariot and went to meet his father 
and they greeted each other with tears of joy. 
Joseph brought his father to Pharaoh and the 
king asked how old he was. Israel told him 
that he was one hundred and thirty years old. 
“ Few and evil have been my days,” so he had 
aged much sooner than his fathers, Abraham 
and Isaac. Then Israel blessed Pharaoh and 
went out from his presence. 

During the long famine the people became 
greatly impoverished, but when the time was 
passed, Joseph gave them seed and helped 
them to prosperity again. 

The story of Joseph's life teaches us that 
true wisdom and goodness are rewarded with 
honor and riches, peace and prosperity. 


67 



The Sons of Jacob. 

The years of famine were over but Israel 
still dwelt in Goshen in the land of Egypt. 
When he was one hundred and forty-seven 
years old, Joseph with his two sons Ephraim 
and Manasseh, went to visit him, and Israel 
laid claim to his two grandsons just as he had 
claimed Reuben and Simeon, and told Joseph 
that all other children that might be given him 
should be his own. He called Ephraim and 
Manasseh to him and laid his hands upon 
their heads to bless them, but his right hand 
was upon Ephraim, for he knew that 
Ephraim, though younger, would be greater 
than his brother. He blessed them both, and 
prophesied that the people of many nations 
would say to their sons, “ God make thee as 
Ephraim and Manasseh.” Thus Joseph’s two 
sons received the birth-right instead of the 
less worthy Reuben and Simeon. 

Then Israel gathered his sons about him 
and told each one what would befall him in 
the days to come, for he knew so well their 
dispositions,—the evil and the good in the 
natures of each,—that he could foretell what 
68 


THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


their way of thinking and living would bring 
to them. He called them the sons of Jacob, 
but said they should listen to Israel their 
father. Here he acknowledged their material 
origin but appealed to their spiritual under¬ 
standing. 

He said of Reuben, the eldest son, that he 
was a man capable of great power and dig¬ 
nity but he would be a failure because he was 
“ unstable as water.” Easily led, easily yield¬ 
ing to temptation, he made poor use of his 
natural gifts. In the days that came after 
Moses said, “ Let Reuben (his tribe) live, and 
not die, yet let his men be few.” 

Israel knew Simeon and Levi were alike, 
cruel and wicked. He feared his influence 
would never do them any good and he did 
not wish to know of their evil deeds. He 
said, “ My soul, come not thou into their coun¬ 
cils; unto their assembly, mine honor, be not 
thou united. Cursed be their anger, for it 
was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel.” 
They would not be strong in their material 
possessions or strong in the only true sense of 
power, that is, the power of good over evil, 
for they should be “ divided in Jacob and scat¬ 
tered in Israel.” In after years Simeon and 
Levi were divided. The descendants of Levi, 
69 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


however, repented and reformed their cruel 
natures. In after years they were chosen for 
great honors. The Levites owned no land but 
the best of everything, the first fruits of all the 
tribes of Israel were brought to them, and the 
word went out, “ Take heed to thyself that 
thou forsake not the Levite as long as thou 
livest upon the earth.” To this day the warn¬ 
ing sounds, “ Take heed that thou forsake not, 
—much less persecute,—those who are on the 
Lord’s side.” 

Jacob saw that Judah was strong, capable, 
wise; that he would merit the praise of his 
brethren and conquer all his enemies; that all 
the tribes of Israel would come under his con¬ 
trol and he would judge them. 

Jacob saw that Judah would rise from the 
wild heathen way of living by slaughter to a 
higher plane of existence; that among his 
descendants there would always be a law¬ 
giver; that he should be rich in possessions 
and clothed with inspiration and righteous¬ 
ness. He said, “ Judah, thou art he whom 
thy brethren shall praise; thy hand shall be 
on the neck of thy enemies.” An enemy is an 
evil thought in our mind or the mind of an¬ 
other, working out evil deeds; and Judah did 
overcome his enemies,—good must conquer 
70 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


evil. Jacob said, “ Thy father’s sons shall 
bow down before thee. Judah is a lion’s 
whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone 
up. He stooped down, he crouched as a lion 
and as a lioness: who shall rouse him up? 
The scepter shall not depart from Judah nor a 
law-giver from between his feet, until Shiloh 
come (the place where the tabernacle was to 
be built, an emblem of the tabernacle not built 
by hands that is to come) and unto him shall 
the gathering of the people be.” 

Rising from confusion and strife, clothed in 
the robes of righteousness, his garments 
cleansed with inspiration, his sons became 
law-givers, seers, prophets and kings. 

One of Judah’s princes, Boaz, descended 
from a princely house, married the beautiful, 
kind and faithful Ruth and they were the 
great grandparents of the gentle poet and 
great king, David, whose illustrious line was 
never to be broken. Today the central figure 
of all history, he whose birth marks the dawn 
of the Christian era, is the “ Prince of Peace,” 
the son of David by direct descent. 

Zebulun, he said, should rule the commerce 
of the seas. “ Zebulun shall dwell at the haven 
of the sea; and he shall be for a haven of 
ships, and his border shall be upon Zidon.” 

71 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


Issachar was indolent, always looking for 
an easy way to live. Indolence is a burden. 
A lazy man is the worst of slaves, bending 
under adverse circumstances which he draws 
upon himself. His father said of him, 
i: Issachar is a strong ass, crouching down be¬ 
tween two burdens and he saw that rest was 
good and the land that it was pleasant; and 
bowed his shoulders to bear, and became a 
servant to tribute.” 

Dan would become an unjust judge in 
Israel. His father was grieved yet knew there 
was nothing to do but to wait until Dan 
should suffer and turn from his evil ways and 
let God rule him. Israel’s words were, “ Dan 
shall judge his people as one of the tribes of 
Israel. Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an 
adder in the path, that biteth the horse’s heels 
so that his rider falleth backward. I have 
waited for thy salvation, O Lord.” Moses 
said of Dan, “ He is a lion’s whelp; he shall 
leap from Bashan.” 

Bashan was the land of giants and Og, their 
king, was one of the last of the giants. His 
bed was over thirteen feet long and about six 
feet wide. Bashan was a fertile and beautiful 
country; but Dan was a worshiper of idols 
and set up idols wherever he went. After the 

72 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


wars and troubled times were past, David 
sang of the “ high hills of Bashan ” and com¬ 
pared them to the hills of God. 

Gad was to have a troubled life, but after 
awhile he would overcome the evil in himself 
and then all his enemies would be conquered. 
Jacob’s words were, “ Gad, a troup shall over¬ 
come him, but he shall overcome at the last.” 
In after years Moses said, “ Blessed is he that 
enlargeth Gad, he dwelleth like a lion.” The 
lion has a strong, cold face, and the Gadites 
must have been great in strength and fleet of 
foot, for in the time of David it was said of 
them, their faces were like the faces of lions 
and they were swift as roes upon the moun¬ 
tains. 

Jacob said of Asher that he would be a 
dealer in luxuries. “ Out of Asher his bread 
shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties.” 
Later Moses said of the descendants of Asher 
they should be honored and loved by their 
brethren, that he would “ dip his foot in oil,” 
and under his feet should be iron and brass. 

The peace loving among the Israelites were 
called Jeshurun (the upright one). Jeshurun 
was told, “As thy days, so shall thy strength 
be. There is none like God, O Jeshurun, who 
rideth upon the heaven for thy help and in 
73 




THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


his excellency on the skies. The eternal God 
is thy dwelling place, and underneath are the 
everlasting arms: and he thrust out the enemy 
from before thee and said, “ Destroy.” To the 
upright ones God is ever near and ready to 
help them destroy the foes in their own hearts 
as well as the lesser foes outside. 

Naphtali’s gentleness and energy combined 
proved to Jacob that his life would be blessed. 
He said of him, “ Naphtali is a hind let loose, 
he giveth goodly words.” And long years 
after Moses said of him, “ O Naphtali, satis¬ 
fied with favor and full with the blessing of 
the Lord; possess thou the west and the 
south.” Many, many years after this, a 
prophecy was spoken by Isaiah concerning 
their possessions: “ The land of Zebulon and 
the land of Nephthalim by the way of the sea 
beyond Jordan, Galilee of the nations. The 
people that walked in darkness have seen a 
great light, they that dwelt in the land of the 
shadow of death, upon them hath the light 
shined.” 

Joseph he called a fruitful bough by a foun¬ 
tain, his branches over-running the wall. The 
archers have sorely grieved him and shot at 
him, but his bow abode in strength and the 
arms of his hands were made strong by the 

74 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


hands of the mighty God of Jacob. Joseph 
had proven himself the shepherd of Israel. 
Jacob said to him, “ The blessings of thy 
father hath prevailed above the blessings of 
my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the 
everlasting hills. ,, Later Moses reiterated this 
great promise. He said, “ Blessed of the Lord 
be his land, for the precious things of heaven, 
for the dew, and for the deep that croucheth 
beneath, and for the precious fruit brought 
forth by the sun, and the precious things 
brought forth by the moon, and for the chief 
things of the ancient mountains, and for the 
precious things of the everlasting hills. He 
was to have of the fullness of the earth and 
the good will of God and man. And this is 
still the heritage of the unselfishly wise, gentle 
and good. 

Benjamin, the youngest son, was a spoiled 
child. Beloved by his father and tenderly 
cared for by his rough brothers through all 
their sojourn in Canaan and in Egypt while 
yet a youth, he grew up selfish and fierce. 
Israel said of him, “ Benjamin shall ravin as 
a wolf; in the morning he shall devour the 
prey and at night he shall divide the spoil.” 
In after years Moses blessed him and said, 
“ The beloved of the Lord shall dwell in safety 
75 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


by him, and the Lord shall cover him all the 
day long and he shall dwell between his 
shoulders.” Both of these prophecies were 
fulfilled later on. The Benjaminites fought 
their brethren and made many widows and 
burned many cities all for plunder, but they 
were not permitted to go on in their wicked¬ 
ness. The tribe of Benjamin was almost de¬ 
stroyed. Then the remnant was tenderly 
nourished and cared for by the brothers they 
had fought so bitterly. It was love conquer¬ 
ing hate. Benjamin’s descendants grew wise 
and good under love’s rule and finally Judah 
and Benjamin loved each other and lived to¬ 
gether. 

Jacob blessed, according to their deserving, 
his twelve sons and they became the twelve 
tribes of Israel. Jacob charged his sons to 
bury him among his people in Machpelah, the 
place Abraham had bought for a burial 
ground, and then he quietly passed away. 

Joseph told Pharaoh his father’s desire and 
his own promise to bury him in Machpelah. 
The king placed chariots and servants at 
Joseph’s disposal and a great company went 
with him to the far-off burial place and laid 
Jacob beside his father and mother, Isaac and 
Rebecca, and his grandparents, Abraham and 

76 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


Sarah. Then they returned from their long 
journey to their little ones, and the flocks and 
herds they had left in Egypt. 

The twelve sons of Jacob represented about 
every phase of human character and disposi¬ 
tion. The student of human nature finds the 
same characteristics still. Mankind plods on 
in the same way, sometimes on the mount of 
faith and hope, more often through the wil¬ 
derness of strife and fear. 


77 




Moses. 


As time went on, the Hebrews became very 
numerous in Egypt. They were prosperous 
and happy during the lifetime of Joseph and 
the Pharaoh who was Joseph’s friend, but 
other Pharaohs succeeded to the throne who 
became jealous and afraid of the numbers and 
prosperity of the children of Israel. They re¬ 
sorted to many measures for subjugating and 
suppressing them, putting taskmasters over 
them who demanded very hard labor at their 
hands. 

Finally, one of these Egyptian kings, fear¬ 
ing the Israelites would revolt and raise an 
army against them, or join his enemies if war 
broke out, commanded that when a boy was 
born among the Hebrews it should be thrown 
into the river. 

About 1071 B. C. it came to pass that one 
mother of the house of Levi hid her little son 
until he was three months old. Then know¬ 
ing she could not secrete him much longer, 
she made a little cradle, or ark, of bulrushes, 
water-proof with pitch and clay. Putting the 
little one in it, she set it among the rushes 
78 


THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


upon the river bank where Pharaoh’s daughter 
was in the habit of going for her bath. The 
baby’s sister was set on watch to see what 
would happen. When the Princess found the 
poor little baby her heart was touched by the 
small tear-wet face. She said, “ This is one 
of the Hebrews’ children.” Then the little 
sister ran up and said, to the Princess, “ Shall 
I go and call thee a nurse of the Hebrew 
women that she may nurse the child for thee ?” 
Receiving permission, the little girl brought a 
nurse, but the Princess did not know it was 
the little one’s mother. The Princess em¬ 
ployed her and she raised the child for 
Pharaoh’s daughter. When he was old enough, 
she took him to the palace. The Princess 
called him Moses, which means, drawn out of 
the water, and he became her son. 

One day after he was quite grown up, he 
went out among his own people. He saw how 
badly they were treated, how burdened they 
were, and he saw an Egyptian beating a 
Hebrew. He looked around and thinking no 
one was near he killed the Egyptian and hid 
his body in the sand. That was not the right 
way to deal with his brother’s wrongs and 
such a thing can never be hidden. He went 
out another day and heard two Hebrews quar- 
79 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


reling. He rebuked the one who was in the 
wrong. This turned the man’s anger against 
Moses. He answered sharply and asked him 
if he intended to slay him as he had slain the 
Egyptian. Then Moses knew his crime had 
been discovered, and in fear he fled from 
Egypt. 

In his wanderings he came to the home of 
a priest of the land of Midian, and he sat 
down by the well, and the priest invited him 
in to eat with them. They found they were 
relatives for the priest of Midian was also a 
descendant of Abraham, and so this Moses 
who had been reared in the palace of a king, 
even in the palace of the Pharaohs, was con¬ 
tent to dwell with the lowly priest who gave 
him his daughter, Zippora, for a wife. 

After awhile the king of Egypt died but the 
children of Israel under his successor were 
still more cruelly treated. God heard their 
cry and remembered his promise to Abraham, 
Isaac and Jacob. Already he was preparing 
a leader who would take them out of bondage 
into a land of their own. 

Through all the years that Moses dwelt in 
the land of Midian he could not forget the 
hardships of his people in Egypt, and his heart 
was filled with love and pity for their wrongs. 

80 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


One day while caring for his father-in-law's 
flocks, near Mount Horeb, he beheld a bush 
ablaze and yet it was not consumed. 

As he gazed and wondered he became con¬ 
scious of an angel, or “ the angel of His pres¬ 
ence ” in the midst of the bush, and a voice 
called, “ Moses, Moses," and he answered, 
“Here am I.” He knew he stood on holy 
ground, that he was listening to the voice of 
his father’s God, and he, like Jacob before him, 
was afraid. Like all men who are not quite 
ready to obey, he trembled and hid his face. 
The voice spoke to him about the hard lot of 
his people, saying that God had listened to 
their prayers and would deliver them from 
the hand of their oppressors. God said to 
Moses, “ Come now therefore and I will send 
thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring 
forth my people, the children of Israel out of 
Egypt." Moses said unto God, “ Who am I 
that I should bring forth the children of Israel 
out of Egypt ? " God told Moses he would be 
with him and would bring them to that same 
mountain as a token. Moses said that when 
he had told the people that he had talked with 
God, they would surely ask, “What is his 
name ? " God answered, “ I am that I am. 
Thus shalt thou say unto the children of 
81 




THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


Israel, I am hath sent me * * * The 
Lord the God of your fathers, the God of 
Abraham, and the God of Isaac and the God 
of Jacob hath sent me, this is my name for¬ 
ever and this is my memorial unto all genera- 
tions. ,, 

God told him to go and gather the elders of 
Israel together and tell them of God’s prom¬ 
ise that he would take them out of bondage in 
Egypt to a land “ flowing with milk and 
honey.” Moses doubted Pharaoh’s willing¬ 
ness to let them go, but the Lord said Egypt 
should be smitten with many plagues until 
they would be glad to let Israel go. Even yet 
Moses argued with God and said they would 
not listen to him. He was told to throw down 
the staff in his hand,—he did so, and it became 
a serpent and Moses fled from it. He was 
told to go back and pick it up. He did so 
and it became a staff again, a true staff,—for 
this was a proof to him that God was with 
him giving him unusual power, an under¬ 
standing which would ever uphold and protect 
him and the people of whom he was to be¬ 
come the leader. He was told to put his hand 
into his bosom; he did so and when he took 
it out it was white as snow with leprosy, but 
upon putting it back again it became as the 
82 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


other hand, so if people would not believe his 
words they would believe his signs. 

Still Moses hesitated; he said, “ O my Lord, 
I am not eloquent, neither heretofore nor since 
Thou hast spoken unto thy servant, but I am 
slow of speech and of a slow tongue.” Then 
the Lord rebuked him saying, “Who hath 
made man’s mouth ? Hath not I the Lord ? ” 
Yet Moses doubted and held back, then he 
was told to go to his brother Aaron who would 
come to meet him and he should tell Aaron 
what to say and Aaron should speak for him. 
“And it shall come to pass that he shall be to 
thee instead of a mouth and thou shalt be to 
him instead of God.” Aaron his brother was 
to be his spokesman, thus not only the honor 
of leadership was to be divided, but Moses’ 
power as an agent of God was weakened. 

Moses was forty years old when he fled 
from Egypt. He had lived at the Egyptian 
court as a prince; he was learned in all the 
wisdom of the Egyptians and was mighty in 
word and in deed, for the wisdom of the 
Egyptians was then the most profound in all 
the world. 

After the splendors of this court he spent 
another forty years in the nomadic life of a 
shepherd in Midian. Thus, endowed with the 
83 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


greatest earthly wisdom and inured to, and 
familiar with the hardships of the wilderness 
he was prepared for God’s great work. 

He met his brother Aaron and they gath¬ 
ered all the elders of Israel together and told 
them God’s loving message and showed them 
the power He had bestowed upon them. Then 
the people were glad and praised God. 

After being admitted to the palace, Moses 
and Aaron said to the king, “ Thus saith the 
Lord, the God of Israel, let my people go, that 
they may hold a feast unto me in the wilder¬ 
ness.” And Pharaoh said, “ Who is the Lord 
that I should hearken unto his voice to let 
Israel go? I know not the Lord, neither will 
I let Israel go.” 

Pharaoh demanded still greater tasks of the 
Hebrews. They were to gather their own 
straw and make as many bricks every day as 
they had been making. This they could not 
do, and they were beaten for their failure. 
They murmured against Moses and Aaron 
and blamed them for this fresh trouble. Moses, 
angry at their injustice, went to the Lord and 
upbraided Him, saying, " For since I came to 
Pharaoh to speak in Thy name he hath done 
evil to this people; neither hast Thou delivered 
Thy people at all.” And God spake unto 

84 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


Moses and said, “ I am Jehovah, and I ap¬ 
peared unto Abraham and unto Isaac and unto 
Jacob as God Almighty, but by my name 
Jehovah I was not known to them.” Under¬ 
standing God as Almighty Good, or Elohim, 
was the true knowledge of God and made 
these patriarchs worthy to be the recipients of 
God’s great promises. Deviating from this 
knowledge of God and believing him capable 
of cruelty had brought the children of Israel 
all their trouble, for it had filled them with like 
qualities. 

The ever-patient God of Love encouraged 
the faint heart of Moses and assured him all 
would be well; the children of Israel would 
go out to the promised land. But Moses and 
Aaron stood alone with God, for neither 
Pharaoh nor the Israelites would listen to 
them. Moses was to say to Pharaoh, “ Israel 
is my son, even my first-born, let him go that 
he may serve me, and if thou refuse I will 
slay thy son, even thy first-born.” 

Moses and Aaron did many wonderful 
things before Pharaoh, but Pharaoh called his 
magicians. They did many wonderful things 
too, and Pharaoh did not realize the difference 
between the true and the false manifestations. 
When Aaron had cast his rod down it became 
85 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


a serpent, and Pharaoh’s men did likewise, but 
Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods, but 
Pharaoh’s heart was so hard he did not see 
what that meant. 

The rod of Moses was lifted upon the 
waters of Egypt, its streams, its rivers, its 
ponds, its pools and wells of water and they 
became blood; there was blood throughout 
the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood and 
vessels of stone. The fish in the rivers died 
and the Egyptians could not drink the water. 
For seven days the waters were blood and the 
Egyptians digged round about the rivers for 
water to drink. 

Moses warned Pharaoh again, and all his 
borders were filled with frogs. Thus plague 
followed plague from the smiting of Moses’ 
rod. Pharaoh had his wise men do the same 
things and could see no difference in their 
man-produced tricks. However he was to be 
taught that the Lord, He is God; he found 
that his magicians could not remove the 
plagues which came from the God-directed 
rod of Moses. He begged Moses to drive 
away the frogs which had come up from the 
rivers and the streams even into his own room, 
into his bed and the dough troughs of his 
household, promising he would let the Israel- 
86 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


ites go. The Lord listened to the request of 
Moses and the frogs died off and were gath¬ 
ered into heaps; but when the king found that 
he was rid of them he broke his promise and 
refused to let the people go. Then Egypt was 
visited by lice, everywhere thick as the dust of 
the earth, tormenting man and beast. Pha¬ 
raoh’s wise men had come to an end of their 
enchantments for they saw the difference and 
told Pharaoh, “ This is the finger of the 
Lord,” but still Pharaoh thought it all came 
about from natural causes, and it did, but the 
cause was his own evil heart and mind, bring¬ 
ing like things because of his evil nature. 
Then came a plague of flies, the houses and 
all places in which the Egyptians lived were 
swarming with flies, but the houses of the 
Israelites were free from flies. The plagues 
did not touch them, there was a wonderful 
barrier that held all the plagues away from 
the Hebrews. “ For I, saith the Lord, will 
be unto her a wall of fire round about, and 
will be the glory in the midst of her.” Again 
Pharaoh promised and again refused. 

Next, many of the king’s cattle and camels 
and horses died of disease, but not one of the 
Israelites lost any. The people were stricken 
with boils, even the magicians were not able 
87 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


to save themselves from the plague; still 
Pharaoh refused. The Hebrews were the 
slaves of the land and did all the hard work, 
and he did not want to part with them. Those 
who saw that God was with the Hebrews lis¬ 
tened to Moses when he said the next plague 
was to be a grievous hail, and they hastened 
all their cattle and their people under shelter. 
Then there was a storm such as Egypt had 
never known since it had been a nation. 
Thunder and hail were mingled together and 
fire ran along the ground. Every living thing 
left unsheltered perished, but in Goshen, 
where the Israelites dwelt, there was no storm. 
Pharaoh’s people begged him to let the Israel¬ 
ites go, they told him that God was with the 
Hebrews and already Egypt was destroyed; 
still the king refused. Moses stretched forth 
his rod again and the Lord caused a great 
east wind to blow all day and all night, and 
in the morning locusts came,—clouds of them. 
They covered the whole of Egypt and ate 
every green thing that the hail had left. 
Pharaoh’s great stubbornness was dense ig¬ 
norance, and this condition of moral blindness 
drew upon him and his people a darkness so 
dense it could be felt. All over Egypt this 
black darkness fell for three days, so that no 
88 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


one of all the Egyptians dared move about, 
but sat still, not even seeing each others’ 
faces. In all that dark land only the children 
of Israel had light. Then Pharaoh told Moses 
to take all his people and go, but the cattle, 
the flocks and the herds must be left in Egypt. 
Moses’ answer was, “ No, not a hoof shall be 
left in Egypt.” 

The king, furious in his wrath, sent Moses 
from his presence. He told him the day he 
spoke to him again he should die. When 
error refuses to yield to truth, truth leaves it 
to its own destruction, which is sure to follow. 
And now Moses answered the king, “ Thou 
hast spoken well, I will see thy face again no 
more, but the first-born of the Egyptians shall 
all perish and a great cry shall be heard 
through all the land. But against the chil¬ 
dren of Israel shall not a dog move his 
tongue.” And Moses left the king in great 
anger. Then, in the midst of this great dark¬ 
ness, the bitterest calamity of all befell the 
Egyptian king and his people. All that had 
preceded had been physical suffering and loss 
of property: now all the first-born of the 
Egyptians were to be slain. 

Great preparations were being made among 
the Hebrews. A feast was instituted called 

89 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


the “ Passover,” which was to be held the 
night of their deliverance. This feast is even 
yet held once in each year by the Jews. A 
lamb was to be killed, one for each house, the 
flesh roasted and the blood sprinkled upon the 
door-posts as a mark upon the home of those 
who had been obedient to directions. The 
Hebrews were to eat this feast standing, and 
girded ready for the start. While this w r as 
going on among the Hebrews death visited 
every Egyptian home and took the eldest child, 
even in the palace of Pharaoh, the hut of the 
maid-servant behind the mill, and the captives 
in the prisons. In every house there was 
mourning, except in the houses where the 
blood of the lamb had been sprinkled. In the 
night a great cry went up from the stricken 
people, from the king in his palace down to 
the lowest servant in his realm. Pharaoh 
called for Moses and told him to take all he 
wanted and go; then he added, “ Bless me 
also,” for he saw that Moses, because of his 
goodness and knowledge of God, gained what 
he asked for. 

Then it came to pass that the Lord did 
bring the children of Israel out of Egypt, a 
great army, men, women and children; cattle, 
camels and flocks, “ a mixed multitude.” Be- 

90 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


cause the Hebrews were timid, Moses led 
them not by the nearest way, the way of the 
Philistines, lest that turbulent people make 
them trouble. Long servitude makes a nation 
incapable of self-reliance, so they went by the 
way of the wilderness; and the Lord, the Love 
that was guiding them, went before them as a 
pillar of cloud by day and by night as a pillar 
of fire. They encamped by the Red Sea in 
a place where it seemed that their progress 
was entirely cut off. 


91 



Moses.—Part II. 


Pharaoh having very soon repented letting 
the Israelites go, took all the chariots of 
Egypt, his horses and his army and overtook 
the Israelites as they encamped by the Sea. 
The Israelites were afraid and cried unto the 
Lord and, as usual, upbraided Moses, saying, 
“ Because there were no graves in Egypt hast 
thou taken us away to die in the wilderness ? ” 
This was the secret of their bondage. Their 
forefathers had sold Joseph because of their 
pride, their self-will and hatred toward the 
wise and quiet lad; thus selling themselves 
into bondage; and the self-indulgence and 
sloth of the greater portion of their number 
kept them there. Had Joseph been left in his 
father’s house, the revelation of the approach¬ 
ing famine would have been given there, and 
Israel would have become famous. The 
Egyptians would have come to them for food, 
for it was Joseph unto whom the light of 
understanding was given. It needed many 
hard lessons to purify the Hebrews. 

Upon the approach of the Egyptian army 
Moses’ faith in the power of God was so per- 
92 


THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


feet that he could speak with calmness and 
authority. He said, “ Fear ye not, stand still 
and see the salvation of the Lord which He 
will show to you today, the Egyptians ye shall 
see no more forever: The Lord shall fight 
for you and ye shall hold your peace.” 

Moses did not know how the Lord would 
get them out of their dangerous position but 
he turned to God for help and he knew it 
would be given them. This was the secret of 
his power, knowing and trusting God. 

The angel of the Lord that had been a 
guiding cloud became in this time of trouble 
a protecting cloud and instead of going before 
them went between them and the Egyptians. 
It was darkness to the Egyptians and a light 
to the Hebrews. Spiritual light is darkness 
to the wilfully blind and is only light to those 
whose thoughts turn Godward. 

Moses, commanded by God, stretched forth 
his rod over the sea and an east wind blew 
all night. It rolled back the water and dried 
the land and the children of Israel went into 
the path thus made. The waters were a wall 
to them on either side and they went over as 
on dry land. The Egyptians followed them 
along this strange path, but it was not for 
Pharaoh and his hosts. All kinds of mishaps 
93 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


befell them. Their chariot wheels broke, or 
came off, and while they were in this confu¬ 
sion some said, “ Let us flee from the face of 
Israel for the Lord fighteth for them against 
the Egyptians.” Before they could turn about, 
however, Moses stretched forth his rod again 
and the waters returned to their place, and 
covered the chariots and horsemen of Pha¬ 
raoh’s hosts. Then the people believed in the 
Lord and in his servant Moses, for a time. 
Then Moses and his men sang a song of 
praise: “ I will sing unto the Lord for He 
hath triumphed gloriously; the horse and his 
rider hath He thrown into the sea.” 

Miriam, the prophetess, the sister of Moses 
and Aaron, went out to meet the men with a 
timbrel in her hand and all the women went 
dancing with her and singing: “ Sing ye to 

the Lord for He hath triumphed gloriously; 
the horse and his rider hath He thrown into 
the sea.” 

Moses led the Israelites three days’ journey 
into the wilderness of Shur. They found no 
water to drink and they murmured again, 
wishing they were back in Egypt; forgetting 
their bitter servitude simply because they 
were thirsty. Then they came to Elim where 
there were twelve springs of water and three 
94 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


score and ten palm trees, and they encamped 
in this beautiful spot. 

Like the people of today, the children of 
Israel were happy and contented while they 
had plenty to eat and a good place in which 
to dwell; but in their hearts there was always 
a readiness to complain. This condition of 
their moral natures held them back from their 
best interests. 

Leaving this resting place among the 
palms they journeyed on to the wilderness of 
Sin, which means clay. Then the whole con¬ 
gregation complained against Moses and 
Aaron, wishing they had been left by the 
flesh-pots of Egypt, where they could eat 
bread plentifully. Liberty was not sweet to 
them when it was to be earned by privations, 
nor were they willing to overcome privations 
by thinking and living in God’s way. 

Moses assured them the Lord would supply 
all their needs, that in the evening they should 
eat flesh and in the morning they should have 
bread. In the evening they saw a cloud of 
quails in the wilderness which came up plenti¬ 
fully about their camp and they had flesh to 
eat. In the morning the ground was thick 
with dew everywhere about them and when 
the dew was gone there was left a small 
95 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


round thing like hoar frost which proved to 
be bread for the hungry people. The children 
of Israel called it manna. 

Moses told them that God would supply 
their food day by day, only on the sixth day 
they were to gather enough for the Sabbath. 
At first some of the people disobeyed and 
gathered enough for the next day also but 
they found it wormy and spoiled. This lack 
of trust and obedience made Moses very an¬ 
gry. Temper seemed to be one of his worst 
failings, but we must acknowledge that he 
had great provocation. During all the long, 
weary journey through the wilderness the 
manna fell six days in the week, and the 
manna for the seventh day was always fresh 
because it was the Sabbath. Thus were they 
taught lessons of obedience and trust in God, 
and some of them were learning the lesson so 
well that they were being fitted for higher 
duties and a better life. 

As they journeyed on they passed again 
through a place where there was no water, 
and the people were about to stone Moses. 
This seems to us very ungrateful and foolish, 
but do not we often likewise? In our self- 
righteousness do we not think how good we 
are and wonder why we are afflicted above 
96 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


our fellows? Each one is apt to think his or 
her own ills the hardest to bear. Moses al¬ 
ways turned to the Lord when in trouble, and 
now he was directed to smite a rock in Horeb 
and water would gush out for the people and 
cattle. He called the place Meribah, because 
the people doubted, asking, “Is the Lord 
among us or not ? ” 

With so much rebellion in their ranks and 
so much anger in their own hearts, it was but 
natural that they should have many battles to 
fight; and now, as they continued their for¬ 
ward movement, Amalek, one of the tribes of 
Esau, came out to dispute their passage. 
Moses sent Joshua with chosen men to meet 
them, while he, with the rod of God in his 
hand, accompanied by Aaron and Hur, went 
to the top of a neighboring hill. It came to 
pass, when Moses held up his hand, that the 
Israelites prevailed, and when he let down his 
hand, Amalek prevailed. But Moses’ hands 
were heavy; and they took a stone and put it 
under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and 
Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the right 
and the other on the left; and his hands were 
steady until the going down of the sun. And 
Joshua discomfited Amalek with the edge of 
the sword. 


97 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


Moses built an altar where this battle had 
been fought; and the army of Amalek, in the 
years that followed, was overthrown again 
and again, until finally the tribe was utterly 
destroyed. 

Moses had sent his wife and two sons back 
to Jethro, her father, so they did not have to 
endure the hardships of this journey. Now 
they came with Jethro and met the Israelites 
at the mount of God. How wonderful and 
glorious it must have seemed to them as they 
talked of the great things God had done for 
the children of Israel through Moses. When 
Jethro saw Moses sitting all day long while 
the people brought their affairs to him for 
advice and judgment, he advised Moses to 
choose good men and put them over the peo¬ 
ple to decide small matters and let only great 
matters be brought to Moses. This good ad¬ 
vice was followed and it saved the great 
leader many petty cares. Jethro went home 
and the children of Israel journeyed on until 
they came to the wilderness of Sinai, before 
the mount. Here it came to pass, in the morn¬ 
ing of the third day, there were thunderings 
and lightnings. A thick cloud was upon 
Mount Sinai. Loud trumpetings were to be 
heard, which frightened the children of Israel, 
98 




THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


but Moses immediately went up into the blaz¬ 
ing mountain and communed with God. When 
he returned, he brought this message from 
God down to the children of Israel: “Ye 
have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and 
how I bare you on eagles’ wings and brought 
you unto myself. Now, therefore, if ye will 
obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, 
then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me 
above all people: for all the earth is mine: and 
ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and 
an holy nation.” And the people answered 
and said, “All that the Lord hath spoken we 
will do.” 

Moses had brought down from the moun¬ 
tain the ten commandments, saying, “ Thus 
saith the Lord, I am the Lord thy God which 
brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out 
of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no 
other gods before me. 

“ Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven 
image or any likeness of anything that is in 
heaven above or that is in the earth beneath, 
or that is in the water under the earth. Thou 
shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve 
them, for I the Lord thy God am a jealous 
God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon 
the children unto the third and fourth genera- 
99 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


tion of them that hate me: and showing mercy 
unto thousands of them that love me and keep 
my commandments. 

“ Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord 
thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold 
him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. 

“ Remember the Sabbath day to keep it 
holy. Six days shalt thou labor and do all 
thy work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath 
of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do 
any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, 
thy man-servant, nor thy maid-servant, nor 
thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy 
gates: For in six days the Lord made heaven 
and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, 
and rested the seventh day: wherefore the 
Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it. 

“ Honor thy father and thy mother: that 
thy days may be long upon the land which the 
Lord thy God giveth thee. 

“ Thou shalt not kill. 

“Thou shalt not commit adultery. 

“Thou shalt not steal. 

“ Thou shalt not bear false witness against 
thy neighbor. 

“ Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house, 
thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife, nor 
his man-servant, nor his maid-servant, nor his 
100 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neigh¬ 
bor’s.” 

These ten commandments, which were 
afterwards written on tables of stone, have 
been the foundation of all human law, in its 
highest form, since the day Moses received 
them amidst the fire and smoke and thunder- 
ings of Mount Sinai; but his afterthought of 
“ an eye for an eye,” and “ a tooth for a 
tooth,” has been annulled by the teachings of 
a better understanding of God as Love. The 
Israelites, in those early days, were slowly 
emerging from heathenism and the observance 
of pagan rites under the leadership of Moses. 
They needed very stringent laws, and Moses, 
because of his love of good and his long com¬ 
munion with God, was wise far beyond his 
day and generation in dealing with his people. 
In spite of his quick temper and many mis¬ 
takes he was the meekest and greatest man 
that walked the earth at that time. He knew, 
too, that meekness, in its true sense, was 
man’s best inheritance. Had they observed 
his God-given counsel, discord and bloodshed 
would have been unknown, and the promised 
land a land of peace and plenty. 


101 



Moses.—Part III. 


Moses talked to the people long and ear¬ 
nestly. He gave them many laws concerning 
their daily lives and the management of their 
affairs, then he was called again up the won¬ 
derful mountain to be instructed by God. 

Moses staid many days upon Mount Sinai 
and the foolish people set aside all his teach¬ 
ings and forgot the signs and wonders God 
had wrought for them; and instead of being 
patient and trustful, they wanted an idol to 
worship. 

God had said to them through Moses, “ Ye 
shall not make with me gods of silver, neither 
shall ye make unto you gods of gold.” Yet 
they besieged Aaron, saying, “ Up, make us 
gods which shall go before us; for as to this 
Moses, the man that brought us up out of the 
land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of 
him.” 

They brought their ornaments of gold to 
Aaron and he formed them into a molten calf, 
graven with tools like the gods of Egypt. He 
built an altar before it upon which they 
offered burnt sacrifices, “ and the people sat 
102 


THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


down to drink and to eat and rose up to play.” 

As Moses, accompanied by Joshua, came 
down from the mount with the ten command¬ 
ments graven on tables of stone, he heard the 
sound of singing and dancing and saw the 
golden calf. “ Moses’ anger waxed hot,” and, 
in a rage, he threw down the tablets of stone, 
graven with the finger of God, and broke 
them to pieces. Going into the camp, Moses 
ground the golden calf to powder. He scat¬ 
tered it upon the water and made the children 
of Israel drink of it. He upbraided Aaron, 
saying, “ What did this people unto thee, that 
thou hast brought so great a sin upon them ? ” 
It was then that Moses, standing at the gate 
of the camp, called, “ Who will be on the 
Lord’s side ? ” The Levites came to him and 
he sent them among the Israelites with their 
swords to slay and to kill right and left, every 
man his brother or his companion. Three 
thousand of the worshipers of the golden calf 
fell by their swords. 

This was the angry Moses but the next day 
he talked to the people and said, “ Ye have 
sinned a great sin, and now I will go up unto 
the Lord; peradventure I shall make an atone¬ 
ment for your sin.” This was the true, be¬ 
cause the wise and kind, Moses speaking. He 
103 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


went up into the Mount and talked with God 
saying, “ Oh this people have sinned a great 
sin, and have made them gods of gold, yet 
now if thou wilt, forgive their sin,—if not, 
blot me, I pray Thee, out of Thy book which 
thou hast written.” But God answered, 
“ Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will 
I blot out of my book.” 

Then Moses understood God better than 
before. His sorrow for this stubborn people 
who had turned against the true God, and his 
willingness to be blotted out of God’s remem¬ 
brance for their sins, gave him a clearer un¬ 
derstanding of God’s great love. 

The tabernacle was moved outside the camp 
and those who would worship the true God 
went out to it. Now Moses wished to assure 
himself that the Israelites were God’s chosen 
people; and, also, that all nations should know 
that God was with them. He prayed the Lord 
to show him His glory; but no mortal could 
look upon God and live as a mortal, therefore 
God talked with Moses from a cloud and 
allowed him to see his glory after he had 
passed by. Now, as then, God often deals 
with mortals “ in a cloud,” but we see his 
glory after He has passed by. 

The tables of stone with the commandments 

104 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


were renewed, and God made a covenant with 
Moses and all the people. They were to take 
heed to their ways and not to unite with the 
worshipers of idols, but were to obey the law 
of right that they might be prosperous and in¬ 
herit the land, overcoming all their enemies. 
Moses was again on Mount Sinai forty days 
and forty nights, neither eating nor drinking 
while communing with God. When he came 
down to talk with the people, his face shone, 
reflecting the light of divine Intelligence and 
Love, so that the people, awed into silence, 
were afraid. 

Moses, putting a veil before his face, re¬ 
vealed to them what God demanded of them 
as a nation. Many of the customs established 
then, and the spirit of many of the ordinances 
he gave, live yet, among both Jews and Gen¬ 
tiles. 

When the time came for the building of the 
permanent tabernacle, according to the pat¬ 
tern shown on the mount, all the children of 
Israel were to bring their offerings for this 
purpose willingly or not at all; for only that 
given with a joyous heart and willing hands 
could be worthy of a place in this wonderful 
structure. This was to stand, in that dark 
and materialistic age, as a type of a still more 

105 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


wonderful temple to be built in the most pros¬ 
perous days of the Israelites, the golden reign 
of King Solomon, and for the most wonderful 
temple of all, that which is to come,—the ideal 
temple, “ a house not made with hands, eter¬ 
nal in the heavens.” 

The building of the tabernacle was a great 
step in the progress of the Israelites, and it 
was a privilege to help in the work. The peo¬ 
ple had come, both men and women, with 
gold, silver and brass. They brought brace¬ 
lets, ear-rings, signet rings and armlets: all 
jewels of gold. Every man with whom was 
found blue and purple and scarlet and fine 
linen, goats’ hair, and ram skins dyed red 
and seal skins, brought them. Those who 
possessed acacia wood suitable for the work, 
brought it. All the women that were wise- 
hearted did spin with their hands, and brought 
that which they had spun, the blue and the 
purple, the scarlet and the fine linen and the 
goats’ hair. 

The rulers brought onyx stones and stones 
to be set in the ephod and the breast-plate; 
spices and oil for the light, for the anointing 
oil and for the sweet incense. 

When the word went out to bring no more 
106 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


offerings, those who had been slow to respond 
lost the opportunity to give. 

Moses put Beraleel, of the tribe of Judah 
in charge of the work and selected Oholiab of 
the tribe of Dan to assist him, for God had 
filled them with wisdom to work out all that 
God had commanded Moses. 

The court of the tabernacle was enclosed by 
curtains of fine twined linen, blue, purple 
and scarlet, beautifully embroidered. The 
curtains were hung on pillars about seven and 
a half feet high whose sockets were made of 
brass and the hooks and fillets of silver. There 
were twenty pillars on each side and ten at 
each end, forming an oblong space. On the 
edge of the curtains were blue loops fastened 
together with taches of gold. The tabernacle 
faced the East and the opening of the court 
was at the east end where the curtains could 
be drawn aside. 

Inside the court, at a little distance from 
the opening, stood the brazen altar of the 
burnt offerings. It was made of acacia wood 
overlaid with brass, and had a brass horn at 
each corner. There was a ring of brass at 
each corner below the horns, and rods of 
acacia wood covered with brass were passed 
through these rings, by which it could be car- 
107 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


ried by the Levites upon their journeys. All 
the pans, spoons, hooks and vessels of this 
altar were made of brass. 

Between this altar and the sanctuary stood 
the laver which was made of solid brass, as 
was also the base. Here the priests washed 
before sacrificing or going into the tabernacle. 
In this court all the Israelites presented their 
offerings, their vows and their prayers. 

Beyond the laver was the “ Tabernacle of 
the congregation.” This was about forty-five 
feet long, fifteen feet wide and fifteen feet 
high. It was built of boards made of acacia 
wood and overlaid with gold and these boards 
were fastened together with tenons and sock- 
* ets of silver. Over these beautiful walls were 
curtains of blue, purple and scarlet, embroid¬ 
ered with cherubim, and fastened together 
with taches of gold, thus forming the magnifi¬ 
cent ceiling of the tent. The whole was cov-j 
ered first with goats’ hair fastened together 
with taches of brass, next a covering of rams’ 
skins dyed red, and last of all badger skins. 

The entrance to the “ Tabernacle of the 
congregation ” was toward the East and cov¬ 
ered by a vail of fine twined linen, blue, purple 
and scarlet, wrought with fine needle work. 
This vail was hung upon five pillars of acacia 
108 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


wood overlaid with gold, having sockets of 
brass. (What was called brass at that time 
is supposed to have been copper.) 

On one side of this “ Holy Place ” stood 
the “ Table of Shew-bread,” made of acacia 
wood overlaid with gold, with a crown and 
border of gold and with bars overlaid with 
gold by which to carry it. 

On the south side stood the “ Golden Can¬ 
dlestick,” with three branches on each side of 
the standard, making seven lamps all of one 
solid piece of beaten gold. The snuffers and 
snuff-dishes were of beaten gold. 

In front of the vail which divided the 
“ Holy Place ” from the “ Most Holy ” stood 
the “Altar of Incense,” also made of acacia 
wood overlaid with gold. This altar was about 
a foot and a half square and about three feet 
high. It also had rings and staves by which 
to carry it. The fragrant smoke that floated 
up from this Altar of Incense was a sweet 
symbol of prayer. 

The “ Holiest of Holies ” was a room about 
fifteen feet square curtained off from the 
“ Holy Place ” with a vail of fine linen beauti¬ 
fully embroidered. In this “ Holiest of Holy 
Places ” stood the “Ark of the Covenant.” 

The Ark was a chest, or coffer, of acacia 

109 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


wood overlaid within and without with gold. 
It was about three feet nine inches in length 
and two feet three inches in width and height. 
There was a gold crown around the top of 
it and two gold rings on each side from which 
the staves were never to be removed. The 
lid of the Ark was a slab of pure gold. It had 
two cherubim (symbol of knowledge, things 
grasped), one at each end, their faces turned 
toward each other, and their wings spread 
over the “ Mercy Seat,” as it was called. The 
whole of this was of beaten gold. Between 
the two cherubim was to be seen God’s glory, 
the manifestation of the Divine Presence, 
called the “ Shekinah.” 

The Ark contained the two tables of stone 
graven with the Law, a golden pot of manna, 
and Aaron’s rod which had brought forth 
buds, blossomed, and yielded almonds as a 
proof that God had appointed Aaron as His 
“ High Priest.” 

Aaron’s robe was all of blue, and the hem 
was embroidered with pomegranates in blue, 
purple and scarlet. Between the pomegran¬ 
ates were bells of pure gold, “ a bell and a 
pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate, round 
about the robe to minister in.” Over the robe 
the high priest wore an “ ephod ” from the 
no 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


shoulders to below the waist, with a “ curious 
girdle.” The ephod was made of fine twined 
linen, blue, purple and scarlet, embroidered 
with threads of gold wire, and fastened at the 
shoulders by shoulder-pieces set with onyx 
stones, graven as signets, in clasps of gold. 

The breastplate, a very elaborate piece of 
embroidery about ten inches square, was set 
with four rows of precious stones. In the 
first row were a sardius, a topaz, and a car¬ 
buncle ; in the second, an emerald, a sapphire, 
and a diamond; in the third, a figure, an agate, 
and an amethyst; in the fourth, a beryl, an 
onyx, and a jasper. They were inclosed in 
clasps of gold and engraved with the names 
of the twelve tribes of Israel. This breast¬ 
plate with its fining formed a purse, in which 
it is supposed the Urim and Thummim were 
enclosed. The whole was securely fastened 
upon the ephod, above the “ curious girdle,” 
with rings and chains of gold and a lacing of 
blue. The head-covering, “ the plate of the 
holy crown,” was of pure gold engraved with 
the words, “ Holiness unto the Lord.” It was 
fastened to a mitre of fine linen with laces of 
blue. 

For Aaron’s sons they made breeches, coats, 
girdles, and “ goodly bonnets ” of fine linen. 

ill 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


Sacrifices of various kinds were ordered by 
Moses, the chief of which were the Sin, Tres¬ 
pass and Peace offerings. 

The burnt offering was made twice a day, 
a lamb without spot or blemish. On the Sab¬ 
bath, New Moon and festivals, other burnt 
offerings were added to the regular service. 

The Sin offering was burned without the 
camp, and the Trespass offering in much the 
same way, except that part of the animal was 
burned upon the brazen altar. 

Peace offerings were free-will offerings 
made in the fulfillment of vows, to express 
thanks, or as an expression of private devo¬ 
tion. Part of the sacrifice belonged to the 
priest who performed the ceremony and the 
rest to him who presented it and he might eat 
it with his family and friends if he wished ta 
do so. 

The offerings of meat were accompanied by 
wine, flour and salt. There were offerings of 
first-fruits, bread, cakes and spices. The 
priests retained a portion of all offerings, ex¬ 
cept the incense which was always burned at 
the altar of incense. 

Among the sacrifices on the “ Day of 
Atonement ” were two goats. Aaron cast lots 
upon these goats, for one was to be burned 
112 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


upon the altar and upon the head of the other 
Aaron laid his hands and confessed all the 
sins of the people, and they were thus laid 
upon the goafs head, and he was led away 
into the wilderness and there loosened where 
no man was. He was called the “ Scapegoat.” 
This service was symbolical of God’s willing¬ 
ness to take away the sins of His people. 

All the sacrifices had a spiritual significance 
and, although the symbols have long since dis¬ 
appeared, God still requires us to confess our 
sins unto Him and repent; then follow the 
sacrifices of self-will and self-indulgence; 
reformation follows, without which all sacri¬ 
fice is in vain. 

The directions for the services of the Tab¬ 
ernacle and the duties of the priesthood, 
which was always to be of the tribe of Levi, 
are to be found in Leviticus. Here also is 
found the sad story of Nadab and Abihu, 
Aaron’s two sons who disobeyed Moses’ com¬ 
mand and burned strange fires in their censers 
and they themselves were wrapped in flames 
and burned before the altar. So, always, evil- 
doing destroys the evil-doer. 

On the day that the Tabernacle was reared 
up, a cloud covered it by day and “ the ap¬ 
pearance of fire by night.” When the cloud 

113 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


was taken up the children of Israel journeyed 
on, but as long as the cloud abode upon the 
Tabernacle they rested in their tents. 

It was two years since the Israelites had left 
Egypt. Now they were to leave the wilder¬ 
ness of Sinai and journey toward the river 
Jordan. Great preparations were made for 
this march. All the men over twenty years 
old in each tribe were numbered, and a leader 
for each chosen, excepting the Levites, who 
were not for battle. Then the tribes were put 
into marching and camping order. Judah was 
given the place of prominence on the side 
toward the rising sun. The leader of each 
tribe was called a Prince. 

The camp was cleansed by putting out 
every man or woman who had a vile disease 
or had committed a criminal deed. Then was 
established the order of Nazarites, those who 
would give their lives to the service of God. 
They were to drink no wine of any sort and 
keep themselves apart from worldly ways. 

The Israelites, ready for their march, kept 
the Passover again, but the cloud still covered 
the Tabernacle by day and “the appearance 
of fire by night,” and they did not move only 
as the cloud moved. 

The building of the Tabernacle, its furnish- 

114 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


ings, and its services were all symbolic of a 
clearer thought of service, when men shall 
worship God in spirit and in truth. Wonder¬ 
ful beyond words is the spiritual significance 
of the “ Mercy Seat/’ to gain even a glimpse 
of which consciousness must reach beyond 
“ the veil of flesh,” and be touched by the 
light which shines between the cherubim (di¬ 
vine attendants). 

In the fresh beauty of the Tabernacle,— 
whose pattern was given on the blazing moun¬ 
tain in the wilderness of Sinai,—through all 
the grandeur, the form and the ceremony, 
the sweet simplicity and gentle goodness of 
Abraham was struggling up. 

The children of Israel were now well epuip- 
ped for their journey. They had a large army 
of strong men and their tents were arranged 
in the right order. 

Moses had two silver trumpets made and 
they became very useful to this vast multitude 
of people. A blast from one trumpet would 
call the elders, and when both were blown 
the whole congregation came to the Taberna¬ 
cle. They were to be blown for alarms and 
at feasts, so in peace or in war, according to 
the need of the moment, they sounded 
through the camp. 


115 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


The people started out from the wilder¬ 
ness of Sinai when the cloud lifted, and 
marched in the order Moses commanded, the 
tribe of Judah taking the lead. After they 
had gone about three days’ journey, the peo¬ 
ple began again to complain, saying, “ who 
shall give us flesh to eat? We remember the 
fish which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cu¬ 
cumbers and the melons, and the leeks and the 
onions and the garlick: But now our soul is 
dried away; there is nothing at all beside this 
manna before our eyes.” This was very dis¬ 
pleasing to God and Moses became very much 
discouraged. What were these people to him 
that he should be taking them out of bondage 
and receive nothing but thankless complain¬ 
ings for his trouble and sacrifice? He talked 
with the Lord, his ever-present help, and said, 
“ I am not able to bear all this people alone, 
because it is too heavy for me. And if thou 
deal thus with me, kill me, I pray thee, out of 
hand if I have found favor in thy sight: and 
let me not see my wretchedness.” The Lord 
told Moses to call seventy faithful elders and 
He would talk with them and put upon them 
the spirit that was upon Moses so they could 
help bear the burden. God promised to give 
the Israelites flesh for a month so abundantly 
116 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


that they would come to loath it. Moses won¬ 
dered if the flocks were to be killed or where 
all this meat was to come from for they were 
more than six hundred thousand people. But 
the Lord said, “ Is the Lord’s hand waxed 
short? Thou shalt see now whether my word 
shall come to pass unto thee or not.” Then 
a strong wind brought quails about the camp, 
a day’s journey on every side, and they were 
piled up all over the ground. The meat-lovers 
ate so much that a plague came on them and 
many of the people died. Thus the camp was 
thinned out again; and the greedy ones were 
buried and the rest went on. 

After Moses’ wife had returned home with 
Jethro her father, Moses married again, an 
Ethiopian woman, and Aaron and Miriam 
were offended. They talked against their 
brother and said, “ Hath the Lord indeed 
spoken only by Moses? Hath He not also 
spoken by us? and the Lord heard it. Now 
the man Moses was very meek, above all the 
men which were on the face of the earth.” 
Those to whom the Lord speaks face to face 
must be meek and Moses was under God’s pro¬ 
tecting care. The Lord spake suddenly to 
Moses, Aaron and Miriam, telling them to go 
to the tabernacle of the congregation. Then 
117 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


the Lord came in the pillar of the cloud and 
stood in the door of the tabernacle. He called 
Aaron and Miriam and they stood forth. The 
Lord informed them, that, to the prophets 
among them He would speak in a dream and 
make himself known to them in a vision and 
said, “ My servant Moses is not so, who is 
faithful in all mine house. With him will I 
speak mouth to mouth, even apparently and 
not in dark speeches; and the similitude of 
the Lord shall he behold: wherefore then 
were ye not afraid to speak against my serv¬ 
ant Moses ? ” The Lord was angry. He de¬ 
parted and the cloud departed. Miriam, 
whose hatred toward Moses must have been 
bitter, became leprous, white as snow. Sin 
brings to the sinner speedy punishment which 
is sometimes called the “ wrath of God,” 
but God is changeless Love and does not will¬ 
ingly afflict the children of men. Miriam’s 
shame lasted seven days and she was kept 
outside the camp, then her repentance was 
earnest and she was healed. So it has always 
been, those who have lived nearest God have 
been persecuted by jealousy, and the perse¬ 
cutor has been punished by shame unless his 
nature was altogether shameless. 

Moses selected twelve men, a prince from 
118 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


each tribe, to spy out the land ahead of them, 
to see if it was rich or poor, if it was built 
up of tents or strongholds and if the people 
were many or few. They were gone forty 
days and brought back marvelous fruits from 
a marvelous land: pomegranates, figs and 
grapes. One bunch was so large it had to 
be carried between two men. However the 
people of this wonderful country were giants 
and their cities were walled strongholds, and 
only Caleb and Joshua were willing to go 
forward trusting in God’s protecting care and 
power. The rest wanted to choose a leader and 
go back to Egypt. They were ready to stone 
Joshua and Caleb and Moses also. Then the 
glory of the Lord appeared and the frightened 
rebels were only saved from destruction by 
Moses’ prayers. Had the people with one 
accord obeyed and trusted God, their weary 
wanderings would soon have been over and 
their way would have been safe and pleasant. 
Now, they were told that none of them should 
see the promised land, except Caleb and Josh¬ 
ua and their families and those under twenty 
years of age of the rebellious tribes. 

Next Korah started a rebellion; two hun¬ 
dred and fifty princes and men of renown 
joined with him. They said to Moses and 
119 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


Aaron, “ Ye take too much upon you, seeing 
all the congregation are holy, every one of 
them, and the Lord is among them: Where¬ 
fore them lift ye up yourselves above the con¬ 
gregation of the Lord ? ” 

All the people inclined toward peace with¬ 
drew and stood by Moses, then the ground 
opened and swallowed alive the families and 
friends of the malcontents, while fire came 
and devoured the two hundred and fifty lead¬ 
ers as they burned strange fire in their cen¬ 
sers. These censers were afterwards beaten 
into plates for the altars. 

The angry people, blind to the real cause 
of the calamity, turned against Moses and 
Aaron, declaring they had slain the people 
of the Lord, thus bringing upon themselves 
more trouble. 

Anger and injustice are prolific sources 
of evil, and Moses saw that the plague had 
broken out among the people. He sent Aaron 
with his censor to stand between the dead and 
the living and the plague was removed. Then 
it was that Moses, grieved and anxious for 
his people, told the leaders of each tribe to 
mark his rod and Aaron was to mark his. 
The twelve rods were laid up in the taber¬ 
nacle, and in the morning Aaron’s rod was 
120 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


budded in token of God’s favor. So the tribe 
of Levi still kept the priesthood and Aaron 
and his sons were to be at their head. 

Then the children of Israel came to the 
desert of Zin and Miriam died and was bur¬ 
ied there. As at Meribah, the people revolted 
because it was not a place of figs, or vines, or 
pomegranates and there was no water to 
drink. God told Moses to speak to the rock 
before the congregation of the people and 
water would flow forth. Instead, Moses spoke 
to the people, “ Hear now, ye rebels; must 
we fetch you water out of this rock ? ” and 
he smote the rock twice with his rod and 
water came out abundantly for the people and 
cattle to drink. The spring was called Mer- 
ibah-Kadesh, and Moses and Aaron were told 
by the Lord that they could not go into the 
promised land with the children of Israel, 
“ Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me 
in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore 
ye shall not bring the congregation into the 
land which I have given them.” 

Israel pitched their tents at Kadesh, an 
oasis in the desert near the borders of Edom. 
Here they remained, only a short journey 
from the promised land until the forty years 
were nearly completed. 

121 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


Then Moses sent messengers to the king 
of Edom, asking permission to pass through 
the country by the king’s highway, promis¬ 
ing to turn neither to the right nor to the left 
until they had passed his borders. Now Is¬ 
rael was a great multitude; beside women and 
children and cattle, there was an army of 
six hundred thousand men and the king re¬ 
fused. Israel had to go a long journey around 
Edom, instead of through it. 

The children of Israel left Kadesh and they 
came to Mount Hor, and here Moses had a 
sad duty to perform. In obedience to the 
Lord’s command, he took Aaron and his son 
Eleazar up into Mount Hor, in the sight of 
all the people. He stripped Aaron of his 
priestly garments, and put them upon Elea¬ 
zar, who was now to be high priest in Aaron’s 
place. 

Moses and Eleazar came down the moun¬ 
tain to the people, but Aaron, the man chosen 
of God to fill the highest office of the Taber¬ 
nacle, died on the top of Mount Hor. To 
whom much is given, much is required, and 
it may be that, stripped of his honor, naked 
and alone, he rose higher in thought and 
came nearer to God than ever before. All 
122 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


the house of Israel mourned thirty days for 
Aaron. 

The people became very much discouraged. 
They murmured against God and Moses, al¬ 
ways longing for the food of Egypt. So fiery 
serpents came among them and from their 
poisonous bites many of them died. Then 
they came again to Moses, repentant and un¬ 
happy, and begged him to intercede for them 
because of the serpents. By the Lord’s com¬ 
mand, Moses made a serpent of brass and put 
upon a standard, and it came to pass, when 
those who were bitten looked to the brazen 
serpent, they were healed. This seems in 
direct opposition to the second command¬ 
ment, but obedience, not argument, was Mo¬ 
ses’ duty, and he obeyed. We know there was 
no healing power in the brazen serpent, but 
those who turned their thought away from 
themselves and obediently lifted up their eyes 
to the serpent of brass were healed. The 
only true way to health is to avoid disease 
and trouble by obedience to God, and if, after 
doing our best, sickness or trouble comes, 
we should turn to God for help, “ Who for- 
giveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy 
diseases.” The brazen serpent was preserved 
for several centuries until, finally, one of the 

123 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


kings of Judah, while destroying some pagan 
altars and “ high places ”, called it “ Nehush- 
tan” (a piece of brass), and destroyed it 
also. 

The Israelites journeyed on, stopping at 
many places. At Beer the Lord again sup¬ 
plied their need of water and this time the 
people sang, “ Spring up, O well; sing ye 
unto it: the princes digged the well, the nobles 
of the people digged by the direction of the 
lawgiver with their staves.” They went on 
until they came to the top of Mount Pisgah, 
which “ looketh down upon the desert.” 

Moses sent word to King Sihon asking per¬ 
mission to pass through his country by the 
highway, promising as before, to turn neither 
to the right nor to the left unto field or vine¬ 
yard or well until they had passed his borders, 
but Sihon refused and went out to fight with 
Israel. The Israelites conquered him and 
took possession of all his country, and lived 
in his cities. This was their first permanent 
possession. 

Next Og, the giant king of Bashan, went 
to battle against Israel, but the Lord told them 
to fear not, for Og should be even as King 
Sihon; and they conquered Bashan and took 
all their lands. 


124 




THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


It seems strange that the Israelites, the peo¬ 
ple chosen of the Lord, should have to fight 
their way into a God-given land, although 
the Lord was with them helping them to vic¬ 
tory, for we know his ways are pleasantness, 
and “ all his paths are peace.” It was the 
spirit of obedience which actuated their an¬ 
cestors and which was still alive and active 
in some small measure among them that was 
beloved by God. Obedience to Principle im¬ 
peratively leads an individual or a nation on¬ 
ward and upward, but the greater activity 
of disobedience and rebellion made the path 
of the Israelites rough and dangerous. God said 
that it was not because of their righteousness 
that he helped them overcome their enemies, 
but because of the greater wickedness of 
other nations. 


125 



Moses.—Part IV. 


The story of Moses is found in the first 
five books of the Bible, called the Pentateuch, 
and these books are supposed to have been 
written by him. 

Genesis, the first, contains an account of 
the beginning of things, especially the history 
of the Israelites, God’s chosen people. 

Exodus, the second, records Israel’s great 
deliverance from Egypt under the leadership 
of Moses. 

Leviticus, the third, treats of the Mosaic 
law and the priesthood. 

Numbers, the fourth, tells of the number¬ 
ing of the people and the organization of the 
army. 

Deuteronomy, the fifth, is a review of the 
others and contains three speeches, the last 
of Moses’ instructions to his beloved people. 

These five books cover a space of about 
2552 years, and contain a history of God’s 
chosen people from Adam, the first man on 
record, until, under the direction of Moses, 
they pitched their tents near the river Jordan 
about 1452 B. C. 


126 


THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


Disobedience to God’s explicit directions 
had made the journey long and hard. Many 
times their ranks had been depleted by 
plagues, devouring fires, earthquakes and fi¬ 
ery serpents destroying the rebellious. Still 
the army that was left seemed just as power¬ 
ful as the greater had been. This proves 
to us that power and strength are not in num¬ 
bers but are the gifts of God to those who 
trust and obey him. 

Their camping ground on the river Jordan 
was in the plains of Moab opposite Jericho. 
Balak, king of the Moabites, had heard what 
befell Og and Sihon and he was afraid of 
Israel, so he sent for the prophet Balaam to 
come and curse the Israelites, promising him 
great reward. 

Balaam knew the children of Israel were 
blessed of God and he answered, “ If Balak 
would give me his house full of silver and 
gold, I cannot go beyond the word of the 
Lord my God, to do less or more.” 

In the morning, however, Balaam saddled 
an ass and went with the princes of Moab 
who had come for him from Balak, taking 
also two servants with him. 

The angel of the Lord was sent to block 
Balaam’s passage, and the ass, seeing the an- 
127 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


gel with the drawn sword standing in the way, 
turned into a field. Balaam struck her and 
turned her back. Then by a wall of a vine¬ 
yard the angel appeared a second time and 
the ass crushed Balaam’s foot against the 
wall. He struck her again. Further on wa9 
a narrow place where they could not turn 
either way, and the angel appeared there. The 
ass fell down under Balam and he beat her 
with his staff. The Lord opened the mouth of 
the ass and she talked with Balaam, asking 
him why he had beaten her so often; Balaam 
said, “ I would there were a sword in mine 
hand for now would I kill thee.” Then the 
prophet’s eyes were opened and he saw the 
angel with a drawn sword standing in the way 
and he fell on his face before him. 

The angel reproved Balaam for beating 
the ass, for she had saved his life. He was 
told to go on but to speak only the words the 
angel should put into his mouth. 

Balaam said unto Balak, “ Lo, I am come 
unto thee; have I now any power at all to say 
anything? the word that the Lord putteth 
in my mouth, that shall I speak.” 

After communing alone with God, Balaam 
said, “ Balak, the King of Moab hath brought 
me from Aram out of the mountains of the 


128 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


East, saying, Come curse me Jacob and come 
defy Israel. How shall I curse whom God 
hath not cursed? or how shall I defy whom 
the Lord hath not defied? For from the top 
of the rocks I see him, and from the hills I 
behold him: lo, the people shall dwell alone, 
and shall not be reckoned among the nations. 
Who can count the dust of Jacob and the 
number the fourth part of Israel: Let me 
die the death of the righteous and let my 
last end be like his.” 

Balak said, “ What hast thou done unto 
me? I took thee to curse mine enemies and 
thou hast blest them altogether.” Balaam 
answered, “ Must I not take heed to speak 
that which the Lord hath put in my mouth? 
. . . Rise up Balak and hear: Hearken un¬ 
to me, thou son of Zippor: God is not a man 
that he should lie; neither the son of man that 
he should repent: hath he said and shall he 
not do it? or hath he spoken and shall he not 
make it good? Behold I have received com¬ 
mandment to bless: and he hath blessed and 
I cannot reverse.” Then Balaam’s eyes were 
opened and he saw the vision of the Almighty. 
“ How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, and thy 
tabernacles, O Israel. . . . God brought 

him out of Egypt; he hath, as it were, the 

129 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


strength of the wild-ox. . . . He crouched, 
he lay down as a lion and as a great lion; 
Who shall rouse him up? Blessed is he that 
blesseth thee, and cursed is he that curseth 
thee.” Then Balaam uttered his great proph¬ 
ecy : “ I shall see him, but not now; I shall 
behold him but not nigh: There shall come 
a star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise 
out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of 
Moab and shall destroy all the children of 
Seth.” (sons of tumult, New Version.) He 
foretold the downfall of the nations round 
about and said, “ Who shall live when God 
doeth this ? ” Balaam then went to his place 
and Balak also went his way. 

While Israel camped outside the borders 
of Moab, the lovers of idols among them went 
among the Moabites and ate at the sacrifices 
and bowed down to their idols. So the Israel¬ 
ites brought upon themselves the curse God 
would not allow Balaam to pronounce. Again 
a plague came upon them as the result of 
their wickedness. Among those left there 
was not a man whom Moses and Aaron had 
numbered in the wilderness except Caleb and 
Joshua. 

After the people were numbered again, 
Moses was told to go up into Mount Abarim 

130 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


and there he should see the land of Promise, 
and that, after he had seen it, he should also 
be gathered to his fathers as Aaron his broth¬ 
er had been, because, in the wilderness of Zin, 
at the waters of Meribah, he had not obeyed 
God. 

Without a murmur or one word of self-jus- 
tification, this grand leader, the meek, the 
long-suffering Moses, only asked that the 
Lord appoint a man over the people in his 
place, “ that the congregation of the Lord 
be not as sheep which have no shepherd.” 
Still uppermost in Moses' thought was his 
love for his people, that they might be wisely 
led out of their temptations and sins into the 
spiritual understanding of the one God be¬ 
side whom there is none else. 

Then the Lord appointed Joshua the son 
of Nun. Moses took him before the high- 
priest and the congregation and gave him a 
charge in their sight. He laid his hand upon 
him and gave him of his honor that all the 
children of Israel might obey him. 

After this the kings of Midian were de¬ 
stroyed and Balaam also died by the sword. 

The children of Reuben and the children 
of Gad had great herds of cattle and they 
wished the magnificent grazing land in the 
131 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


plains of Moab as their possession. They 
offered to build sheepfolds for their cattle 
and fenced cities for their women and chil¬ 
dren while the armed men would cross the 
Jordan and fight with the army until Israel 
had won their possessions. Then they would 
return to Jagar and Gilead, and it was agreed 
that they might do so. 

Moses talked with the people saying, “ Now 
therefore hearken, O Israel, unto the statutes 
and unto the judgments which I teach you.” 
He urged them to be faithful in teaching 
God’s law to their children and to their chil¬ 
dren’s children as God required. 

He reiterated the thought that obedience 
to the voice of God brought peace, prosper¬ 
ity, Life itself, and so it does today. He called 
upon heaven and earth to witness, if they 
loved that which God had taught them not 
to love, they should be destroyed as a nation. 
“ And the Lord shall scatter you among the 
nations,” (and so it has been). “But if 
from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God 
thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all 
thy heart and with all thy soul.” Again and 
again he urged obedience, always obedience. 

Knowing from the past what the future 
might be, Moses plead with the people, “Hear, 

132 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


O Israel; the Lord our God is one Lord.” 
He told them the Lord would take away all 
sickness if they would remember to obey him 
and no matter how mighty in number, or 
stature their enemies might be they need not 
be afraid of them. Again and again he 
urged obedience to God’s law: “ And thou 
shalt teach them to thy children, speaking of 
them when thou sittest by the way, and when 
thou liest down, and when thou risest up.” 
He set before them a blessing; and a curse 
if they would not obey. 

Moses reminded them how they had been 
fed and how water had come from the flint 
rock for them to drink; and that in forty years 
their garments had not waxed old, their feet 
had not swollen nor had their shoes worn 
out. He warned them not to forget God after 
he had given them great and goodly citie9 
which they had not built and wells they had 
not digged. 

He told them that after they had crossed 
over Jordan they should set up great stones 
and write upon them the words of the law. 

Six of the tribes were to be sent upon Mount 
Gerizim to bless the obedient and the other 
six upon Mount Ebal to curse the disobedi¬ 
ent. He told them that if they would heark- 
133 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


en to the voice of God, He would set them 
high above all the nations of the earth, and 
give them of every treasure, but if they would 
not hearken, then the curses should overtake 
them: “ The Lord shall smite thee with con¬ 
sumption and with fever, and with inflam¬ 
mation. The Lord shall cause thee to be smit¬ 
ten before thine enemies: thou shalt go out 
one way against them, and shall flee seven 
ways before them: And thou shalt be tossed 
to and fro among all the kingdoms of the 
earth; because thou servest not the Lord 
with joyfulness and with gladness of heart.” 
His words were not only to those who were 
with him that day but “ to those who are not 
here.” Moreover he said: “ This command¬ 
ment which I command thee this day, it is not 
hidden from thee, neither is it far off. It is 
not in heaven that thou shouldst say, Who 
shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it 
unto us that we may hear it and do it? Nei¬ 
ther is it beyond the sea, that thou shouldst 
say, Who shall go over the sea for us, and 
bring it unto us, that we may hear it and do 
it? But the word is very nigh unto thee, 
in thy mouth and in thy heart that thou may- 
est do it. See, I have set before thee this day 
life and good, and death and evil.” 

134 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


The great leader, prophet and seer taught 
them that harmony, peace and a true sense 
of life is gained only by listening to the voice 
of God; and that no evil could befall them so 
long as they loved and trusted God. Moses 
wrote a song and “ Spake in the ears of all 
the people,” thus: 

“ Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; 
and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth. 
My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech 
shall distill as the dew, as the small rain.upon 
the tender herb, and as the showers upon the 
grass. Because I will publish the name of the 
Lord, ascribe ye greatness unto our Lord. 
. . . Jeshurem (the beloved) waxed fat 

and kicked: . . . then he forsook God 

which made him, and highly esteemed the 
rock of his salvation. . . . Do ye thus re¬ 
quite the Lord, O foolish people and un¬ 
wise ? ” 

Moses went up from the plains of Moab 
to the top of Pisgah and the Lord showed 
him all the promised land, to the utter¬ 
most sea. There Moses died and was 
buried. No man knoweth his sepulcher un¬ 
to this day. “ And Moses was an hundred 
and twenty years old when he died; his eye 
was not dim, nor his natural force abated.” 

135 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


“ There arose not a prophet since in Israel 
like unto Moses, whom the Lord knew face 
to face. ,, 

In reading the story of Israel’s passage 
out of the bondage of Egypt it is well to re¬ 
member that it is typical of the progress of 
the world out of materialistic beliefs called 
“ The world, the flesh and the devil,” away 
from man “ whose breath is in his nostrils ”, 
into the true understanding of God and His 
universe, 


136 



THE HISTORICAL BOOKS. 
Joshua—Esther. 







Joshua. 

The Judges of Israel. 
Ruth. 

Samuel. 

Saul. 

David and Goliath. 
David and Jonathan. 
King David. 

Absalom. 

Solomon. 

A Divided Kingdom. 
The Downfall of Israel. 
The Downfall of Judah. 
The Temple Rebuilt. 
Queen Esther. 








Joshua. 


After the death of Moses, Joshua, the son 
of Nun, was to lead the Israelites across the 
river Jordan into the Promised Land. The 
Lord talked with him as he had talked with 
Moses, and said, “ I will be with thee; I will 
not fail thee, nor forsake thee. ,, 

Joshua sent out two spies to view the land 
and the defences of the city of Jericho. 

When they came to this city they lodged in 
the house of a woman named Rahab and the 
King sent word to Rahab to give the men up 
for they had come as spies. She said the 
men had gone out but if they were pursued 
quickly they might be overtaken. 

The messengers hastened out of the city 
just as the gates were closing, hoping to 
overtake the spies. Rahab, however, had hid 
den the two Israelites under some stalks of 
flax upon the roof of her house, and when 
all was quiet again she went up and told them 
how fearful the whole country was because 
of the Israelites. She said all men had heard 
of the wonderful things that had happened 
since they left Egypt and she knew the Lord 
would give Israel the land; there was no cour- 

141 


THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


age left in any of the men of Jericho for their 
hearts had melted with fear. She asked that 
they would save alive her father and mother 
and all her family. They promised to do so 
because of her kindness. 

She let them down by a cord through her 
window, for her house was upon the wall that 
surrounded the city. They were to hide in the 
mountains for a few days then they would 
be safe to go back to their camp. 

She was told to bring all her people with 
their household goods into her house and bind 
the scarlet cord with which she let the Israel¬ 
ites down, across her window. When the 
children of Israel came into the land no one 
should go out her doors and they would be 
safe. 

The spies went back to Joshua and re¬ 
counted all that had befallen them. They said, 
“ Truly the Lord hath delivered into our 
hands all the land; and moreover all the in¬ 
habitants of the land do melt away before us.*' 
They recognized that fear had already con¬ 
quered Jericho. 

Joshua rose up early in the morning, and, 
having gathered all the people together, they 
journeyed to the river Jordan and rested there 
three days. 


142 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


Then the ark of the covenant bom by 
priests went through the camp and all the 
people followed it. As the feet of the priests 
that carried the ark of the covenant touched 
the water it came to pass that the waters 
which came down toward the sea were wholly 
cut off so all Israel passed over on dry land 
across the bed of the Jordan, opposite Jericho. 

Twelve large stones were taken from the 
spot where the priests had stood holding the 
ark and they were piled up where the people 
landed on the other side. 

Joshua also set up twelve stones in the midst 
of the river where the priests had stood with 
the ark. After this the people feared Joshua 
as they had feared Moses. When all were 
over the waters returned to their place and 
overflowed the banks of the river as they 
had before. All the kings of the Canaan- 
ites heard of this wonderful passage and 
“ their hearts melted, neither was there any 
spirit in them any more.” The children of 
Israel named the place where they had come 
up from the dry river-bed Gilgal, and they 
kept the Passover there. The next day they 
ate of the fruit of the land and the Manna 
fell no more. 

Here, outside of Jericho, Joshua saw a vis- 
143 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


ion, a man with his sword drawn in his hand. 
Joshua asked him, “ Art thou for us or for 
our adversaries ? ” He answered: “ Nay; but 
as a captain of the hosts of the Lord am I 
now come.” Joshua reverently asked for in¬ 
structions, and loosened his shoes from off his 
feet, for it was holy ground. Thus Joshua, 
willing to yield obedience, was guided by a 
higher power. The gates of Jericho had been 
closed, none went out and none went in, be¬ 
cause of the Israelites. 

With the silver trumpet Joshua called the 
priests and placed seven of them before the 
ark, each with a ram's horn. He sent the 
armed men before the ark, compassing the 
city so that they went before and came after 
the ark, the priests following with their trum¬ 
pets, but all the armed men in silence. This 
they did for six days but the seventh day they 
compassed the city seven times. The seventh 
time, as the priests blew a strong blast, Josh¬ 
ua commanded, “ Shout, for the Lord hath 
given you the city,” and the walls of the 
city fell flat. 

Every man went up straight before him into 
the city and slew every living thing except 
those of Rahab’s household. They took her, 
her people and her gods out of the house 

144 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


into a safe place and burned everything in 
the city except things made of gold or other 
metals, which were taken into the treasury 
of the Lord. 

The Lord commanded that the city was 
never to be rebuilt. 

Joshua’s fame went out through all the 
land and all the people knew that God was 
with him. 

Israel, however, still had lessons to learn. 
Joshua had told them everything in the ac¬ 
cursed city must be destroyed. One man, 
Achan, of the tribe of Judah, disobeyed. He 
hid a Babylonish mantle in his tent and trou¬ 
ble followed. Joshua called every tribe and 
examined them by families, man by man, un¬ 
til he found the culprit. He was stoned and 
burned, thus setting an example before the 
Israelites who were slowly learning that obe¬ 
dience was the only foundation for their 
success. 

Joshua set up an altar in Mount Ebal and 
wrote upon the stones a copy of the law. In 
many other places also the law was graven 
on stones by the wayside. 

The Israelites sometimes forgot to take 
counsel with the Lord and they covenanted 
with the inhabitants of Gibeon. They made 

145 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 

them “ hewers of wood and drawers of wa¬ 
ter.” They were to be bondmen forever. 

Now the king of Jerusalem knew the pow¬ 
er of the Israelites and when Gibeon made 
peace with Joshua he called the Kings of four 
other countries about him to help destroy 
Gibeon, for it was an important place, as 
great as some of the royal cities. 

Gibeon sent to Joshua to come quickly and 
help them for all the kings of the hill coun¬ 
try had come against them. 

Joshua went up from Gilgal in the night. 
He came upon the enemy suddenly and the 
slaughter was great. They fell before Israel 
and were met by a terrible hail storm that 
killed more men than even Israel had slain. 
Joshua kept his army in pursuit and before 
all Israel—after he had called upon the Lord 
—he said, “ Sun, stand thou still upon Gib¬ 
eon; and thou moon, in the valley of Ajalon.” 
The sun stood still and the moon staid, until 
the people had avenged themselves upon their 
enemies. So the sun stood still in the midst 
of heaven, and hasted not to go down about 
a whole day. And there was no day like 
that before it or after it, that the Lord heark¬ 
ened unto the voice of man: for the Lord 
fought for Israel. 


146 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


The captains of Israel’s army put their 
foot upon the necks of the five kings who 
were captured while hiding in a cave. This 
was a rude and barbaric symbol that right 
would always conquer wrong, for Joshua said 
to his captains, “ Fear not, nor be dismayed, 
be strong and of good courage: for thus shall 
the Lord do to all your enemies against whom 
ye fight.” The five kings were buried in the 
cave where they had tried to hide. 

Joshua went out again with his army and 
fought and conquered seven other kings. He 
burned their cities, great and small: they 
utterly destroyed all the people in the sur¬ 
rounding land, the hill country, the low-lands 
and the slopes. Then Joshua returned to the 
camp at Gilgal. All the kings that were left, 
from the North and from the South, from 
the East and West,—with great armies like 
the sand upon the seashore in multitude, with 
horses and chariots, met together and pitched 
at Meron to fight against Israel. They saw 
the whole land would be devastated if they did 
not overcome the conquering Israelites, the 
chosen of the Lord. But the Lord said unto 
Joshua, “ Be not afraid because of them, for 
tomorrow at this time, I will deliver them 
up all slain before Israel.” 

147 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


Then Joshua and his men of war went out 
against this great army and came upon them 
suddenly. He smote them and put them all to 
flight. At this time, too, Joshua cut off the 
Anakim, who were giants. From all the 
land given to Israel only a remnant of the in¬ 
habitants was left in the cities beyond. Israel 
had conquered thirty-one kings, and for a 
time had rest. Still there were many more 
kings to be subdued and their lands given to 
the children of Israel. 

Now Joshua was growing old. He was 
told to portion out the land they had taken 
among those who were to inherit on that side 
of Jordan. Judah’s possession extended from 
the Salt Sea on the east to the Great Sea on 
the west. 

Benjamin and Dan were on their northern 
border between Judah and Joseph. None of 
the tribes of Israel lived so close to the true 
God as Judah and Benjamin. They kept up 
the tabernacle and the priesthood but the 
other tribes finally lapsed into the worship of 
the Golden Calf. Thus Judah continually 
rose to ascendancy and his inheritance became 
the central point of Jewish history. 

Within the borders of his country was Je¬ 
rusalem, the seat of Jewish worship and the 
148 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


ancient city of Hebron, which fell to the lot 
of Caleb because of his willingness to obey 
God at Kadesh. Hebron, beloved of Abra¬ 
ham, where he bought his burial lot at Sarah’s 
death, and where he was buried beside her. 
The Moslems claim to have yet in their keep¬ 
ing the Cave of Machpelah. 

The City of Hebron, built by the father of 
Anak the giant, still stands although there are 
few Jews there now. The inhabitants are 
mostly Turks and Arabs. 

Joshua, feeling that the time had come 
when he was to leave his people, called them 
about him and gave them his dying counsel 
and blessing. He reminded them of all the 
Lord had done for them when they were obe¬ 
dient and warned them that the curses would 
be as heavy as the blessings had been great if 
they became disobedient. He said, “ Choose 
you this day whom ye will serve.” The peo¬ 
ple answered, “ The Lord our God will we 
serve and His voice will we obey.” 

Joshua wrote these things down in the Book 
of the Law, then he passed away, mourned 
and beloved by all. 


149 



The Judges of Israel. 


The children of Israel had been warned of 
God to have nothing to do with their heathen 
neighbors but they disobeyed this command, 
intermarrying with the people of Canaan, wor 
shipping their heathen gods and every man 
doing his own will. Confusion reigned and 
again they were sold into bondage. 

Israel served the king of Mesopotamia 
eight years, when Othniel, a good man, the 
son of Caleb’s younger brother, rescued them 
and was given Caleb’s daughter as a reward 
of valor. Under him the land had rest for 
forty years. 

After his death they went back to their 
old ways and were “ smote by the king of 
Moab ” who took their city of Palm trees. 
They served this king eighteen years. 

Next Ehud, a left-handed man, delivered 
Israel, and he was followed by Shangar, an¬ 
other mighty man, but after this Israel was 
oppressed by Jabin, King of Canaan, who 
had nine hundred iron chariots. 

Sisera was the captain of this king’s army, 
and he kept the Israelites in bondage twenty 

150 


THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


years. Then Deborah, a prophetess, was 
raised up as Judge of Israel and the people 
came to her for judgment. She sent Barak 
with ten thousand men, of the children of 
Naphtali and of Zebulun to take Sisera and 
his army and his chariots, for the Lord would 
delivered them into his hand. Barak refused 
to go unless Deborah would go with him. 
She agreed to do this, but said it would not be 
to his honor, as Sisera would be taken by the 
hand of a woman. 

Sisera was discomfited and all his mighty 
army, so that he lighted down from his char¬ 
iot and fled away on foot. He took refuge 
in the house of Jael, the wife of Heber the 
Kenite, and she slew him with a tent-pin while 
he slept the sleep of exhaustion. 

Then Deborah and Barak sang a song of 
praise to the Lord, “ Hear, O ye kings; give 
ear, O ye princes; * * * The rulers ceased 

in Israel, they ceased until that I, Deborah, 
arose, that I arose, a mother in Israel.” They 
sang of the battle in poetic language, “ They 
fought from heaven; the stars in their courses 
fought against Sisera. The river Kishon 
swept them away, that ancient river, the river 
Kishon. O my soul, march on with strength.” 
They cursed those who gave Israel no help, 

151 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


but of Jael they sang, “ Blessed shall she be 
above women in the tent; He asked for water 
and she gave him milk: she brought forth 
butter in a lordly dish. She put her hand to 
the nail, and her right hand to the workman’s 
hammer, and with her hammer she smote 
Sisera, ... at her feet he bowed, . . . 
there he fell down dead.” Still singing they 
told how the sad mother of Sisera cried 
through her lattice, “ Why is his chariot so 
long in coming? Why tarry the wheels of 
his chariot ? ” 

After Deborah this “ stiff-necked people ” 
went back to their old ways and were subdued 
by Midian. Their cattle and flocks were tak¬ 
en from them and their land made desolate. 
They dwelt in caves in the mountains. 

The oftener the Israelites sinned, the lower 
they fell, for wilful wrong-doing reaps the 
bitterest reward. After seven years Gideon 
rose up to liberate Israel. He was secretly 
threshing wheat at a wine-press when the 
Lord spoke to him, but he doubted, “ Did not 
the Lord bring us up from Egypt? But now 
hath the Lord forsaken us.” He did not know 
it was because their hearts had turned from 
good that their path had grown rough and 
dangerous. But the Lord said, “ Go in this 
152 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


thy might and thou shalt save Israel from 
the hand of the Midianites; have not I sent 
thee ? ” Like Moses of old, Gideon argued 
against going. He said he was poor and un¬ 
known; what could he do? He asked for a 
sign. He placed an offering upon a rock and 
fire came out and consumed it. Again he 
placed a fleece of wool upon the ground and 
asked that if the Lord was truly with him 
that the fleece be wet with dew while the 
ground about it was dry. In the morning 
he wrung a bowl of water from the fleece, 
but the ground was dry. Gideon thought 
this might just have happened, so he placed 
the fleece next night and asked that the fleece 
be dry and the ground around it be wet, and it 
was so. 

The Lord has given and is still giving won¬ 
derful proofs of his presence and power, and 
yet the world is full of doubt and fear. 

Gideon chose a handful of men, about three 
hundred, and they went out to deliver Israel. 
The Midianites lay beneath them in the val¬ 
ley like grasshoppers for multitude and their 
camels were without number. 

Gideon and his servant crept to the edge 
of the camp and heard a man of Midian re¬ 
lating a dream to his fellows. He had dreamed 
153 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


that a cake of barley bread had tumbled into 
the camp of Midian and turned the tents up¬ 
side down. The one who listened said, “ This 
is nothing else save the sword of Gideon, the 
son of Joash, a man of Israel; into his hand 
hath God delivered Midian and all the host.” 

Then Gideon worshipped God. He went 
to the three hundred and told them they would 
be victorious. He put trumpets into the hands 
of each man, and gave them pitchers with 
lamps in them. They stood around the camp 
of Midian and all blew their trumpets at once. 
Breaking their pitchers, they held up their 
lamps, or torches, and cried, “ The sword of 
the Lord and Gideon.” The great host of 
Midianites were afraid. They were fire- 
worshippers and they thought their own gods 
were fighting against them. They ran for 
their lives, pursued by the trumpet’s blast 
and the cry, “ The sword of the Lord and of 
Gideon.” 

After this victory Israel wanted to make 
Gideon their king and his sons after him. 
Gideon refused, but asked to be given the 
earnings that were taken in the spoil, which 
was great. 

They wore golden ear-rings in Midian, for 
they were Ishmaelites, and the Israelites had 

154 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


taken an hundred and twenty thousand pairs. 
So Gideon had a great weight of gold with 
the crescents and pendants of the camels and 
the purple raiment of the king which he had 
taken. Gideon made a priestly garment and 
took it to his city. This was wrong for only 
a Levite might wear an ephod and Gideon’s 
ambition became a snare to him and his house. 

Gideon was called Jerubbaal (a fighter with 
Baal). At his death his son Abimelech, a 
bad man, destroyed all his father’s family, 
except his youngest brother Jotham, who was 
hidden; then, buying the help of other bad 
men, he proclaimed himself king. 

Jotham stood upon Mount Gerizim and 
cried to the people, “ Hearken unto me, ye 
men of Shechem, that God may hearken unto 
you. The trees went forth on a time to anoint 
a king over them; and they said to the olive 
tree, Reign thou over us. But the olive tree 
said unto them, Should I leave my fatness 
wherewith by me they honor God and man, 
and go to wave to and fro over the trees? 
And the trees said to the fig tree, Come thou 
and reign over us. But the fig tree said unto 
them, Should I leave my sweetness and my 
good fruit and go to wave, to and fro over the 
trees? And the trees said to the vine, Come 
155 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


thou and reign over us. And the vine said 
unto them, Should I leave my wine which 
cheereth God and man, and go to wave to 
and fro over the trees? Then said all the 
trees to the bramble, Come thou and reign 
over us. And the bramble said unto the trees, 
If in truth ye anoint me king over you, then 
come and put your trust in my shadow: and 
if not, let fire come out of the bramble and 
destroy the cedars of Lebanon.” Then Jotham 
said to Israel “ Now, therefore, if ye have 
dealt truly in that ye have made Abimelech 
king, and if ye have dealt well with Jerubbaal 
and his house this day, then rejoice ye in 
Abimelech.” But a king crowned by fraud 
and deceit could find only treachery among 
his followers, and while making a cruel and 
devastating raid he was slain. 

After this Zola judged Israel twenty-three 
years, and after him Jair twenty-two years, 
but when he died Israel went back to serving 
idols and became subject to Ammon and the 
Philistines for eighteen years. Now Jephtha, 
although a good man and a mighty, was an 
exile from his father’s house and dwelt in the 
land of Tob. The Israelites sent to him and 
asked him to be their chief and deliver them 
from Ammon. 


156 




THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


Jephtha first tried to free the people peace¬ 
fully but found the only way was to fight for 
freedom. Jephtha vowed a vow to the Lord 
that if he gained the victory he would offer 
as a burnt offering whatsoever came first out 
of his door to meet him. He conquered 
twenty cities and reclaimed the plain of the 
vineyards and came in peace to his own house 
in Mizpah. His only child, a daughter, came 
out of the door to meet him with timbrels and 
dancing. He remembered with horror his vow, 
and said, “Alas, my daughter, I am troubled,” 
and he told her of his vow. She comforted 
him saying that God had been good to Israel, 
and that he should keep his vow, but she 
asked for two months among her companions. 
This time she spent in mourning for her fath¬ 
er’s house which would be childless and des¬ 
olate. She came back and Jephtha did ac¬ 
cording to his vow. After this there was an 
ordinance in Israel that the daughters of Is¬ 
rael should go four days in every year and 
mourn for Jephtha’s daughter. Today we 
know God better and we know He does not 
demand or approve such sacrifices. 

Jephtha ruled six years and after him were 
three judges covering the space of twenty- 
five years, then Israel was delivered into the 
157 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


hands of the Philistines for forty years. Fi¬ 
nally the angel of the Lord spoke to a house¬ 
hold of the tribe of Dan. He told them a son 
was to be bom to them and no razor was to 
be upon his head. He was to drink no 
wine but live the life of a Nazarite. A son 
was born to them and they called his name 
Samson. He was very strong and once he 
slew a lion with his bare hands. When Sam¬ 
son was grown, he married a wife of the Phil¬ 
istines. His people felt very badly about it 
but it was the first step toward setting Israel 
free, for he became bitterly offended at the 
conduct of her people. He caught three hun¬ 
dred foxes and, tying firebrands to their tails, 
set them loose in the Philistines’ com. Then 
the Philistines came upon him but his strength 
was so marvelous that he slew a thousand 
men with the jaw-bone of an ass. 

Once, when in Gaza, the people sought his 
life but he escaped. Going out at midnight, 
he took the gates of the city, posts, and bars 
and all, and carried them on his shoulders 
up the mountain. 

Then Samson very foolishly loved an un¬ 
worthy woman whose name was Delilah. She 
desired to rob him of his great strength and 
deliver him to his enemies. Many times Sam- 

158 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


son teasingly told her how to bind him and 
make him like other men. She always tried 
it when he slept and then called, “ Samson, 
the Philistines be upon thee.” He would arise 
and break the strong cords as if they were 
cords of tow touched with fire. Then she wept 
and begged to know the truth, and poor foolish 
Samson told her what he believed to be the 
truth, that his strength was in his uncut hair. 
Then when he fell asleep with his head in her 
lap, she cut his long hair and his strength 
was gone. She called again, “ Samson, the 
Philistines be upon thee,” but he arose so 
weak and helpless that they took him and put 
out his eyes. 

Samson’s strength was not really in his 
hair but in his obedience. He had forgotten 
that he belonged to the Lord when he yielded 
himself to the wiles of Delilah, so he was 
shorn of his strength even before his locks 
were cut. 

He was bound with fetters of brass and set 
to grinding corn in the prison. The people 
rejoiced greatly and offered sacrifices to their 
god Dagon. 

Some time after this, during a merry-mak¬ 
ing, Samson, who had now recovered his 
strength, was led in by a lad to the pillars 
159 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


whereon the house rested. The place was 
full of people,—lords and. ladies of the Phil¬ 
istines. Three thousand were upon the roof, 
all laughing at the blind Samson, who, they 
supposed, was shorn of all his strength. He 
stood by the middle pillars before all the people 
and cried, “ O Lord God, remember me, I 
pray Thee, and strengthen me, I pray Thee, 
only this once, O God, that I may be at once 
avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes.” 
Then taking hold of the two great pillars, he 
bowed himself with all his might. The roof 
fell, killing the multitude of people and the 
repentant Samson also, for he did not care 
to live without his eyes. 

Samson had ruled Israel twenty years, but 
now each tribe did as they pleased. When 
they were not fighting heathen nations, they 
fought and robbed each other. Confusion 
was the inevitable result. 


160 



Ruth. 


Now it came to pass, in the days when the 
Judges ruled Israel, that there was a famine 
in the land and Elimelech, a man of Bethle- 
hem-Judah, with his wife, Naomi, and their 
two sons, went to dwell in the land of Moab. 
After Elimelech's death, Naomi lived with 
her two sons who had married in Moab, for 
ten years. At the end of that time, both sons 
died and Naomi, having decided to go back 
to Judah, advised her daughters-in-law to re¬ 
turn to their father’s house and said, “ The 
Lord deal kindly with you, as ye have dealt 
with the dead and with me.” 

Orpah, weeping, kissed her mother-in-law 
and did as advised; Ruth would not leave 
Naomi, who remonstrated with her saying, 
“ Behold, thy sister-in-law has gone back to 
her people and unto her gods; return thou 
after thy sister-in-law.” And Ruth said, “ En¬ 
treat me not to leave thee, or to return from 
following after thee; for whither thou goest, 
I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will 
lodge; Thy people shall be my people and thy 
God my God: Where thou diest, I will die, 
161 


THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


and there will I be buried: The Lord do so 
to me and more also, if aught but death part 
thee and me.” 

So the two went to Bethlehem, then all 
the city was moved about them and said, “ Is 
this Naomi?” She answered, “Call me not 
Naomi (gracious), call me Mara (bitterness), 
for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with 
me. I went out full and the Lord hath brought 
me home again empty: why then call ye me 
Naomi, seeing the Lord hath testified against 
me and the Almighty hath afflicted me ? ” 
Naomi could not see that this was the only 
way that Love could prove the beautiful, 
faithful, obedient Ruth, the Gentile, and bring 
her to Israel, where great things would come 
to pass through her. 

So Naomi returned to her people, with 
Ruth, the Moabitess, of the country of Moab, 
and they came to Bethlehem in the beginning 
of the barley harvest. 

Ruth, with Naomi’s permission, gleaned in 
the field after the reapers and, “ her hap was 
to light on the part of the field belonging to 
Boaz,” who was a mighty man of wealth 
and a kinsman of Naomi’s husband. Boaz 
came from Bethlehem to visit the field and 
162 



the lure of the book 


said to the reapers, “ The Lord be with thee,” 
and they answered him, “ The Lord bless 
thee.” Boaz, seeing Ruth, asked the over¬ 
seer, “ Whose damsel is this ? ” The servant 
replied that she was the damsel that came 
back with Naomi out of the country of Moab, 
and told him that she had asked permission 
to glean after the reapers among the sheaves. 
Then said Boaz unto Ruth, “ Hearest thou 
not my daughter? Go not to glean in another 
field, neither go from hence, but abide here 
fast by my handmaidens: Let thine eyes be 
upon the field that they do reap, and go thou 
after them.” She bowed herself to the 
ground and said, “ Why have I found grace 
in thine eyes that thou shouldest take knowl¬ 
edge of me seeing that I am a stranger ? ” 
Boaz answered her, “ It hath been fully shown 
me all thou hast done unto thy mother-in-law 
since the death of thy husband: and how thou 
hast left thy father and thy mother, and the 
land of thy nativity, and art come unto a peo¬ 
ple which thou knewest not heretofore. The 
Lord recompense thy work, and a full re¬ 
ward be given thee of the Lord God of Israel, 
under whose wings thou art come to trust.” 
She thanked him and told him he had com¬ 
forted her by speaking so kindly to one who 
163 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


was not like unto his own handmaidens. At 
meal-time Boaz called to her, “ Come thou 
hither and eat of the bread, and dip thy mor¬ 
sel in the vinegar/’ She sat beside the reapers 
and he passed her the parched corn and she 
ate, then went again into the field. After she 
had gone out, Boaz commanded the reapers 
to let her glean among the sheaves and pur¬ 
posely let fall some grain, that she might 
glean plenteously. She went home at even¬ 
tide and Naomi asked her all about her day’s 
work and said, “ Blessed be he that did take 
knowledge of thee.” Ruth told Naomi all 
that had happened and that she had gleaned 
in the field of Boaz. Then Naomi rejoiced 
and knew the Lord had not left off his kind¬ 
ness to the living and the dead, for Boaz was 
near of kin to Naomi. 

Naomi advised Ruth not to go in any 
other field but to glean with the maidens 
of Boaz till the end of the barley harvest, as 
Boaz had requested. When the harvesting 
was ended and the threshing time was come, 
Naomi sent Ruth down to the threshing-floor 
where Boaz was, for he was one of her near¬ 
est kindred and all Naomi’s hopes were cen¬ 
tered in him. She told Ruth not to trouble 
him while he was busy and tired but wait un- 

164 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


til he had eaten and slept; also to mark the 
place where he should lie down and then 
quietly wait at his feet until he should awaken. 
Ruth did as her mother-in-law told her and 
at midnight Boaz turned and was startled 
to find some one at his feet and he said, “ Who 
art thou ? ” She answered, “ I am Ruth, thine 
handmaid,” and she claimed his protection and 
interest for Naomi and herself, because he was 
their nearest kinsman. Boaz blessed Ruth 
and said he had noticed how quiet and kind 
she was, and that she had paid no attention 
to the young men, whether they were rich or 
poor. He said all the city knew how good 
she was, and while it was true that he was a 
near kinsman there was one who was nearer 
than he, and he would see this man in the 
morning. If this man would do the kinsman’s 
part,—well; if not, he, Boaz, would do so, 
“ as the Lord liveth.” He told her to lie down 
until the morning and she did so, resting at 
his feet. She got up early before the light, and 
before the rest of the threshers were stirring. 
Boaz measured six measures of barley and 
poured them into the veil that she wore about 
her. Then she went into the city to Naomi. 
She related to her mother-in-law all that had 
happened. Naomi told Ruth to be of good 

165 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


cheer for Boaz would do what was right and 
just and do it quickly. 

Boaz went to the man of whom he had 
spoken, Naomi’s nearest kinsman, and they sat 
down with ten men, elders of the city and 
Boaz put the case before them. He said Na¬ 
omi had returned from the country of Moab 
and wanted to sell a parcel of land which was 
her husband’s. He said publicly, before the 
elders, that this man was the nearest of kin, 
and asked him if he were willing to redeem 
the land to say so,—if he would not to say so, 
as he, Boaz, was the next of kin and he would 
redeem it. The man promised that he would 
redeem it. Boaz added that whoever bought 
the land of the hand of Naomi must buy it 
also of Ruth the Moabitess, and live upon it 
to keep up the inheritance of the dead. The 
nearest kinsman could not do this as it would 
mar his own inheritance, and he said, “ Re¬ 
deem thou my right for thyself.” 

Now they had a strange way in Israel, at 
that time, of giving a deed. When they bought 
or exchanged land, “ a man plucked off his 
shoe and gave it to his neighbor: and this 
was a testimony in Israel.” So the kinsman 
plucked off his shoe and gave it to Boaz and 
all the elders were witnesses that Boaz had 
166 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


bought all that was Elimelech’s, Naomi’s hus¬ 
band, and all that was her sons’. Moreover, 
Ruth of Moab was to be his wife. 

The people and the elders blessed Boaz and 
the beautiful Ruth of whom everyone had 
heard. 

So Ruth became the wife of Boaz, and after 
a while they had a little son and there was 
much rejoicing. Naomi took the little one and 
laid him in her bosom and became a nurse 
to him. They called his name Obed, and in 
after years he became the father of Jesse, who 
was the father of a great king, David. 

Boaz was of the house of Pharez, who was 
the son of Judah and Tamar. His father was 
Salmon, a prince of Judah and his mother 
was Rahab the Canaanite, who hid the spies 
at Jericho. He lived in the time of the Judges 
and this sweet story shines like a gem while 
so much of the life around them was vicious 
and unclean. 

The purity and faithfulnes of Ruth, the hon¬ 
or and generosity of Boaz, fitted them to be¬ 
come the great-grandparents of David, Isra¬ 
el’s poet-king, from whose royal line the scep¬ 
ter was never to depart, and whose royal house 
was to have an everlasting prince. “ The gov¬ 
ernment was to be upon his shoulders, and his 
167 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


name was to be called Wonderful, Counsellor, 
the Prince of Peace.” 



Samuel. 


There was a certain man of Mount Ephra¬ 
im whose name was Elkanah. He had two 
wives and the name of one was Hannah. Ev¬ 
ery year Elkanah went up to Shiloh, where the 
tabernacle was, to worship and to make his 
offering unto the Lord. He gave all his fam¬ 
ily a portion, but as he loved Hannah best, 
he gave her a double portion. Hannah was 
unhappy because she had no children, and 
Elkanah said to her, “ Hannah, why weepest 
thou ? And why eatest thou not ? And why is 
thy heart grieved? Am I not better to thee 
than ten sons ? ” Hannah went into the tem¬ 
ple and prayed and vowed a vow that if she 
should have a son given her in answer to her 
prayer, she would give him to the Lord all 
the days of his life. 

Eli was priest and judge at this time. He 
saw that Hannah was a woman of a sorrow¬ 
ful spirit and that out of the abundance of 
her grief she had spoken to the Lord. He 
said to her, “ Go in peace, and the God of 
Israel grant thee thy petition. ,, 

Before the time of the next yearly sacrifice, 

169 


THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


a little son was given to Hannah. She called 
his name Samuel, for she was heard of God. 

When Samuel was old enough, she took 
the child, with an offering, to the temple. She 
gave him to Eli and told him it was for this 
child she had prayed and had vowed to lend 
him to the Lord as long as he lived. Hannah 
sang praises to the Lord and then went back 
to her home with Elkanah, leaving the child 
with Eli. 

Now Eli had two sons, also priests in the 
temple, but they were sons of Belial and 
knew not the Lord. They were disobedient 
to the law of the priesthood and their sin was 
very great. Eli admonished them and tried 
to have them do right, but they hearkened 
not to the voice of their father, for Eli had 
not taught them to obey while they were 
little. 

A man of God came to Eli and reproved 
him for the conduct of his sons, saying, 
“ Wherefore kick ye at my sacrifice and at 
mine offering?” He told Eli his house was 
to be cut off and God would raise up a faithful 
priest. 

There was no “ open vision ” or true proph¬ 
et of the Lord in those days. Eli was old, 
feeble and unhappy. He had not taught his 

170 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


sons to love the Lord as they should and now 
his punishment had come. 

The child Samuel, wearing a little linen 
ephod and ministering to the Lord, was a 
great comfort to Eli, and he grew in favor 
both with the Lord and with men. 

One night, before the lamp of God went 
out in the temple of the Lord, where the ark 
of God was, Samuel lay down to sleep. The 
Lord called Samuel and he answered, “ Here 
am I.” He ran to Eli and said, “ Here am I 
for thou calledst me.” But Eli said, “ I called 
not; lie down again.” The Lord called yet 
again and Samuel went to Eli and said, “ Here 
am I, for thou didst call me.” Once more 
Eli replied, “ I called not, my son; lie down 
again.” Now Samuel did not yet know the 
Lord and it seemed there was none to teach 
him and so the Lord must speak directly to 
the child. A third time the Lord called “ Sam¬ 
uel,” and again he went to Eli and said, “Here 
am I, for thou didst call me.” Then Eli per¬ 
ceived that the Lord had spoken to the child. 
He told Samuel that when he was called 
again he should answer, “ Speak Lord, for 
thy servant heareth.” 

Then the Lord stood by Samuel and called 
and Samuel answered, “ Speak; for thy serv- 

171 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


ant heareth.” Then the Lord said to Samuel 
“ Behold I will do a thing in Israel at which 
both the ears of every one that heareth it 
shall tingle. In that day I will perform against 
Eli all the things which I have spoken concern¬ 
ing his house; When I begin, I will also make 
an end, for I have told him I will judge his 
house forever for the iniquity which he know- 
eth; because his sons made themselves vile 
and he restrained them not. And therefore 
I have sworn unto the house of Eli, that the 
iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be purged with 
sacrifice nor offering forever.” 

In the morning Samuel went about his du¬ 
ties but feared to tell Eli of his vision; but 
Eli called him and asked him what the Lord 
had revealed in his vision, and charged him 
to hide nothing that the Lord had spoken. 
Then Samuel told him every word, and Eli 
said, “ It is the Lord; let him do what seemeth 
to him good.” It is a great sin against God 
and a great wrong against a child when par¬ 
ents fail to teach obedience. If a child is 
not taught quick obedience, he will be slow 
to love and obey God. 

Samuel grew and the Lord was with him 
nor did any of his words fall to the ground. 
All Israel from Dan to Beer-Sheba knew that 


172 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


Samuel was a true prophet. The Lord ap¬ 
peared again in Shiloh for he revealed him¬ 
self to Samuel by his word. In the course of 
time, Israel went again to battle with the Phil¬ 
istines and were overcome. They wondered 
why the Lord had not helped them. They 
concluded to take the ark of the covenant in¬ 
to camp and then go out against the Phil¬ 
istines again. When Eli’s two sons brought 
the ark into the camp all Israel shouted with 
a great shout and the Philistines heard it. 
They understood that it was because the ark 
had come into the camp. They were afraid and 
said, “ Woe unto us! for there hath not been 
such a thing heretofore. Woe unto us! who 
shall deliver us out of the hands of these 
mighty Gods ? These are the Gods that smote 
the Egyptians with all the plagues of the wil¬ 
derness. Be strong and quit yourselves like 
men, O ye Philistines, that ye be not servants 
unto the Hebrews as they have been to you: 
quit yourselves like men and fight.” The 
Philistines did fight and thirty thousand men 
of the Hebrew army fell. The rest fled, every 
man to his tent. The ark of the Lord was 
taken by the Philistines, and Eli’s two sons 
were slain. 

Eli sat by the way-side waiting for news. 

173 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


His heart trembled for the ark of the Lord. 
He heard a great cry and asked about the 
tumult. A man came running with his clothes 
rent and with earth upon his head, who cried 
to Eli, “ I am he that hath fled from the army 
this day.” He told of the great slaughter and 
of the death of Eli’s two sons, but when he 
told how the ark of the Lord had been cap¬ 
tured and carried off by the Philistines, Eli, 
falling backward, broke his neck and died. 
Eli had judged Israel forty years. 

The Philistines took the ark of God to their 
temple and set it by their god Dagon. Early 
in the morning, behold, Dagon was fallen on 
his face before the ark of God. They set 
Dagon in his place again but on the morrow 
he was again fallen before the ark. His head 
and both hands were broken off to show the 
nothingness of his supposed wisdom and pow¬ 
er. Then were the priests and all the people 
afraid; they would not pass the threshold of 
the house of Dagon. They had a sickening 
sense of the helplessness of their god, and 
added to this, an abject fear of the unknown 
God of Israel. They were stricken by the 
plague and thought it was caused by the ark 
of the Israelites’ God. 

Israel thought the presence of the ark would 

174 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


win the battle for them, but not so, their pow¬ 
er was vested in steadfastness and obedience, 
which was so lacking, and the ark itself was 
captured. 

The Philistines thought their punishment 
came from the ark, but not so, it came from 
their own evil lives and because they had 
dared to lay profane hand upon the highest 
emblem of the loftiest thoughts of God’s 
chosen people, who,—though fierce, cruel and 
vile as a mass,—had sometimes among them 
wise men who saw in a measure the gran¬ 
deur of Truth and Love, thus holding Israel 
closer to God than other nations. 

The Philistines determined to get rid of the 
ark, so they carried it about from city to city, 
but the same fear and the same plague fol¬ 
lowed it. All men were smitten and many 
died. Then the cry of the cities went up to 
heaven. The priests of the Philistines ad¬ 
vised them to return the ark with offerings 
of peace, and told them not to be foolish and 
hard as the Egyptians were in the old days, 
but to return the ark quickly: in a new cart, 
with two young cows on which there had 
come no yoke; and with jewels and ornaments 
of gold as their trespass offering. In the cof¬ 
fer of jewels were to be golden mice accord- 
175 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


ing to the number of the cities of the five lords 
of Philistia. If the kine went in the right 
way, drawing the ark safely, they would 
know the Lord was with the ark; if not, they 
would know it was by chance they had been 
smitten. 

The young cows left their calves behind 
them and took the right way, lowing as they 
went, turning neither to the right nor to the 
left. Some Israelites were reaping in a field 
and when they saw the ark of the Lord com¬ 
ing they were rejoiced. All the men of 
this place came to receive it. They broke 
the cart in pieces and built a fire. Then those 
faithful animals, after bringing the ark safely 
back, were offered as a burnt offering upon 
a rock in the field. 

The ark had been returned to a Levitical 
city, and the men of that city, yielding to their 
curiosity, looked into the ark. Then they, too, 
were smitten with the fear of their disobe¬ 
dience, and over fifty thousand died of the 
plague. They sent word to the men of Kir- 
jath-jearim saying, “ The Philistines have 
brought again the ark of the Lord; come ye 
down and fetch it up to you.” They took 
the ark to their city and sanctified a priest 
to keep it. Here the ark remained for twenty 
176 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


years. The Israelites still worshipped idols 
and for so doing were kept in subjection to 
the Philistines. 

Samuel, who was now judge in Eli’s place, 
finally prevailed upon the people to put away 
their idols. Repenting and fasting, they gath¬ 
ered together at Mizpah. 

When the Philistines heard of it they came 
up against Israel and the people were afraid. 
They called unto Samuel, “ Cease not to cry 
unto the Lord our God for us, that he will save 
us out of the hand of the Philistines/’ 

While Samuel was praying, the men of 
Philistia drew near for battle, but a great 
storm of lightning and thunder discomfited 
them. They fled before the Israelites and were 
subdued. They came no more into the coasts 
of Israel all the days of Samuel. 


177 



Saul. 


It came to pass when Samuel was old, that 
he made his sons judges over Israel, but they 
walked not in his ways. They turned aside 
for lucre, took bribes, and perverted judg¬ 
ment. Then all the elders of Israel came to 
Samuel and complained. They wanted him to 
choose a king to rule over them as in other 
nations. Samuel was displeased with them, 
but he went to God with the matter, and 
found that it would be better to let the peo¬ 
ple have their own way. He was told, how¬ 
ever, to protest before the people and show 
them plainly what it would mean to have a 
king. He said, “ This will be the manner of 
the king that shall reign over you: He will 
take your sons and appoint them for himself, 
for his chariots and to be his horsemen, and 
some shall run before his chariots. He will 
appoint him captains over thousands and cap¬ 
tains over fifties; and will set them to plow 
his ground and to reap his harvest, and to 
make his instruments of war, and instruments 
of his chariots; And he will take your daugh¬ 
ters to be confectionaries, and to be cooks, 
and to be bakers. And he will take your fields 
178 


THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


and your vineyards, and your olive-yards, 
even the best of them, and give them to his 
servants. And he will take the tenth of your 
seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his 
officers and to his servants. He will take 
your men-servants. . . . and ye shall cry 

out in that day because of the king which ye 
have chosen you; and the Lord will not hear 
you in that day.” Nevertheless, the people 
refused to obey Samuel’s voice or accept his 
counsel, and they said, “ Nay, but we will 
have a king over us.” 

Now there was a man of the tribe of Benja¬ 
min and he had a son whose name was Saul; 
a choice young man and goodly; from his 
shoulders and upwards he was higher than any 
of the people. Saul’s father was a rich and 
mighty man. One day he told Saul to take 
one of the servants and find some cattle that 
had strayed away. They wandered far but 
could not find them. The servant told Saul 
that in the city near which they were seeking 
there was a man of God and all that he said 
surely came to pass, and perhaps he would tell 
them which way to go. So they went to seek the 
Seer, for a prophet in those days was called 
a seer. 

They met Samuel as he was going up to sac- 
179 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


rifice. Now the Lord had told Samuel, the 
day before Saul came, that he would send 
him a king from the tribe of Benjamin, and 
when Samuel beheld Saul, he knew this was 
the man that should reign over Israel. Sam¬ 
uel invited him to eat with him and said that 
tomorrow he would tell him all that was in 
his heart. As for the cattle that had been 
lost, he could put them out of his mind, for 
they had been found three days before. Sam¬ 
uel said to him, “ On whom is all the desire 
of Israel ? Is it not on thee and on thy father’s 
house?” Saul answered that he was of the 
tribe of Benjamin, the smallest of the tribes 
of Israel, and his family was the least in all 
the tribe, “ Wherefore then speakest thou so 
to me ? ” Samuel had invited about thirty 
guests, and he took Saul among them, giving 
him the seat of honor. Afterwards they 
talked together upon the housetop, but Sam¬ 
uel did not tell him the greatest secret until 
the next day. Then they arose early and went 
together out of the city. Samuel told him to 
send his servant on, as he would be alone with 
him while he showed him the word of God. 
Then Samuel poured oil upon his head and 
kissed him, calling him the anointed of the 
Lord, to be captain over Israel. Samuel told 
180 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


him all that would happen to him on the way; 
that he would meet a company of prophets 
coming from their sacrificing, and they would 
have musical instruments going before them, 
a psaltery, a tabret, a pipe and a harp, “ and 
the Spirit of the Lord will come upon thee, 
and thou shalt prophesy with them and shall 
be turned into another man.” This transforma¬ 
tion was of the mind arid had been going on 
in Saul since his meeting with Samuel. As 
Saul turned from Samuel, God changed his 
heart and his desire was set on higher things. 

All that Samuel said came to pass. Saul 
joined the company of prophets and prophe¬ 
sied among them. When those who knew him 
saw this they said, “ What is this that has 
come unto the son of Kish? Is Saul also 
among the prophets?” And it became a 
proverb, “ Is Saul among the prophets ? ” 

Samuel called the people together at Mizpah 
and advised them to think well before they 
put themselves under a king, but they said, 
“ Set a king over us.” 

From all the tribes of Israel, Benjamin was 
chosen, and from all the families of Benja¬ 
min Saul was chosen but he, Israel’s future 
king, was hiding from his approaching great¬ 
ness. However, no one could hide from Sam- 
181 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


uel. When Saul was brought among them he 
stood head and shoulders taller than any of 
the people, who thronged about him shouting, 
“ God save the king! ” Samuel told the people 
the manner of the kingdom and wrote it in 
a book and laid it up before the Lord. 

In the course of time the Ammonites came 
up against a city of Israel and the men of that 
city were afraid. They wanted to covenant 
with the Ammonites to serve them, but the 
Ammonites would only accept them as serv¬ 
ants provided they might put out one eye, as 
a reproach on Israel. The people asked seven 
days to consider it and they sent messen¬ 
gers all over Israel. Saul heard it and was 
wroth. He took a yoke of oxen and hewed 
them in pieces and sent them to all the tribes 
of Israel with the message that this would be 
done to their oxen if they did not follow Saul 
and Samuel to battle. The fear of the Lord 
came upon the people and they came out with 
one accord, three hundred thousand men. The 
people of the terror-stricken tribe were glad 
and sent word to the Ammonites that they 
would come to them on the morrow, and said, 
“Ye shall do with us all that seemeth good 
unto you.” 

Saul proved himself “the king.” Going 
182 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


out against the enemy, he mowed them down 
until no two were left together. Great was 
the consternation of the Ammonites when they 
found their army was destroyed. 

Then the people thought they had a great 
king, and they went to Gilgal and renewed the 
kingdom there with sacrificing of peace of¬ 
ferings and great rejoicing. Samuel said be¬ 
fore all the people, “ Behold I have hearkened 
unto your voice in all that ye have said unto 
me, and have made a king over you. And 
now behold, the king walketh before you; I 
am old and grayheaded; and behold, my sons 
are with you; and I have walked before you 
from my childhood even to this day. Behold, 
here I am: witness against me before the Lord 
and before his anointed: whose ox have I 
taken? or whose ass have I taken? or whom 
have I defrauded? whom have I oppressed or 
of whose hand have I received any bribe to 
blind mine eyes therewith? and I will restore 
it unto you.” Then they said, “ Thou hast 
not defrauded us, nor oppressed us, neither 
hast thou aught of any man’s hand.” Samuel 
told them to stand still that he might reason 
with them about all the Lord had done. Then 
he talked to them long and earnestly, as Moses 
had talked to their forefathers. 

183 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


When Saul had reigned two years over 
Israel he chose three thousand men of the 
tribe of Benjamin, two thousand to be with 
him and one thousand to be with his son, Jon¬ 
athan. The rest of the people he left in their 
tents. Jonathan got into trouble with the 
Philistines and Saul blew a trumpet through 
all the land saying, “ Let the Hebrews hear.” 

The people came together at Gilgal, but the 
Philistines were very strong, thirty thousand 
chariots, six thousand horsemen, and people 
as the sand on the seashore for multitude. 
Israel was not ready for war and was in a 
strait, so they hid themselves in caves, in thick¬ 
ets, behind rocks and in high places, and in 
pits. Some even went over the Jordan to 
the land of Gad and of Gilead. All the people 
who stayed with Saul followed him trem¬ 
bling. Saul sent for Samuel to come and offer 
up burnt offerings according to their law, but 
as he did not come on time, he did it himself, 
which was a sin, for Saul had not been ap¬ 
pointed as a priest. When Samuel ;came he 
told Saul he had acted foolishly and that 
this act would cost him and his house the 
kingdom. The Lord would choose a better 
man to fill the kingly place. 

Now the Philistines had not permitted any 

184 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


smiths in the land of Israel for fear they 
would make weapons of war. The Israelites 
had been obliged to take even their axes and 
plows to the Philistines when they needed to 
be sharpened, consequently there were no 
swords or spears among the people, only Saul 
and Jonathan were thus armed. Jonathan and 
his armour-bearer went over to the Philistines’ 
garrison but he told not his father and none 
of the people knew that he was gone. 

Jonathan said to the young man with him, 
“ It may be that the Lord will work for us: 
for there is no restraint to the Lord to save by 
many or by few; ” and the young man an¬ 
swered, “ Do all that is in thine heart; behold, 
I am with thee.” Then Jonathan told the 
young man that they would go and reveal 
themselves to the garrison, and if they called 
to them to tarry until they came down, they 
would stand still, but if they called to them 
to come up, they would know that the Lord 
had delivered the garrison to them and they 
would go up. 

The Philistines said, “ Behold, the Hebrews 
come forth out of the holes where they have 
hid themselves,” and they called, “ Come up 
and we will show you a thing.” Their arro¬ 
gance cost them much. The two young 
185 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


men climbed up the garrison and that first 
slaughter which Jonathan and his armour- 
bearer made was about twenty men, “ within, 
as it were, about half an acre of land, which 
a yoke of oxen might plow.” 

Then there was a great trembling among the 
Philistines, even the earth quaked. The watch¬ 
men of Saul saw the great army melting away, 
and beating down each other as they went. 
Saul, resting under a pomegranate tree a great 
way off, said, “Number now, and see who is 
missing.” Only Jonathan and his armour- 
bearer were not there. As the noise and con¬ 
fusion among the Philistines grew greater, 
the Hebrews that were with them went back 
to Israel, and those who were hiding came out. 
So the Lord saved Israel that day through 
Jonathan. 

While pursuing the enemy through the 
woods, Jonathan, not knowing his father had 
ordered a fast, ate some honey he found on 
the ground. The penalty for this mistake was 
death, and Saul would have executed the sen¬ 
tence, but the people protested saying, “ There 
shall not one hair of his head fall to the 
ground, for he hath wrought with God this 
day.” So Jonathan’s life was saved. 

When the Israelites came from Egypt, Am- 
186 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


alek had laid wait in the valley to do them 
harm and now Saul was sent to destroy the 
city of Amalek. He was to take no spoil nor 
leave one thing alive. However, Saul dis¬ 
obeyed. He saved Agag, the king of Amalek 
and brought him, with the best of their cattle 
and possessions, to Gilgal. When Samuel 
came, Saul went out to meet him saying, 
“ Blessed be thou of the Lord; I have per¬ 
formed the command of the Lord.” Samuel 
asked, “ What meaneth then this bleating of 
sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the 
oxen which I hear ? ” Samuel also said, 
“ When thou wast little in thine own sight 
* * * the Lord anointed thee king over Is¬ 
rael. * * * Why then didst thou not obey 

the voice of the Lord?” Saul tried to jus¬ 
tify himself, “ Yea, I have obeyed the voice 
of the Lord.” Samuel said, “ Hath the Lord 
as great delight in burnt offerings and sacri¬ 
fices as in obeying the voice of the Lord? 
Behold, to obey is better than to sacrifice, and 
to hearken than the fat of rams. For rebel¬ 
lion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubborn¬ 
ness is as iniquity and idolatry.” This was 
a wonderful statement for that early day. It 
shows that Samuel realized that they who 
worship God must worship him in spirit and 
187 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


in truth. How seldom, even to this day, do 
we recognize stubbornness, willfulness and 
temper as sins, great as idolatry. 

Samuel said, “ The Lord hath rent the king¬ 
dom of Israel from thee this day, and hath 
given it to a neighbor of thine that is better 
than thou. And also the strength of Israel 
will not lie nor repent; for he is not a man 
that he should repent.” 

Not wishing to humiliate the king before 
the people Samuel went with Saul that day, 
but saw him no more until the day of his 
death. Nevertheless, Samuel mourned for 
Saul, and the Lord repented he had made Saul 
king. Now we know that God cannot repent, 
for he is changeless and eternal. We know 
that he can make no mistake for which he 
need repent, for he is infinite and unerring 
Wisdom. The people had demanded a king 
and Samuel had chosen the best king the na¬ 
tion could produce at that time. Samuel, 
whose integrity was without blemish, whose 
obedience never faltered, was grieved, for 
Saul, when weighed in the balance, had been 
found wanting. 


188 



David and Goliath. 


“ The Lord said to Samuel, How long wilt 
thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected 
him from reigning over Israel? Fill thine 
horn with oil and go, I will send thee to Jesse, 
the Bethlehemite: for I have provided me a 
king among his sons.” 

Fearing Saul’s displeasure if he went openly 
to anoint another king, Samuel took an of¬ 
fering and sacrificed before the people of 
Bethlehem and sanctified Jesse and his sons. 

Jesse presented seven of his sons to Sam¬ 
uel, but the chosen one, David, was not among 
them. He was in the field, keeping the sheep, 
so Samuel waited until he was brought in. 
Then the Lord said, “Arise, anoint him; for 
this is he.” The spirit of the Lord rested up¬ 
on David from that day forward. 

After Saul’s disobedience he became de¬ 
jected and morose. His guilty conscience con¬ 
tinually reproved him, and it was said that an 
evil spirit from the Lord troubled him. While 
the spell was on him, he sent for David, al¬ 
ready a celebrated musician, to exorcise the 
evil spirit with the music of his harp. Saul 
soon learned to love the ruddy youth, whose 
189 


THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


music did soothe him so that he recovered. 
David returned home to care for his father’s 
flocks. After a while the Philistines came 
again to war with Israel. The Philistines 
stood on a mountain on one side and the Is¬ 
raelites on a mountain on the other side, and 
there was a valley between them. Down into 
this valley came a champion of the camp of 
the Philistines, a mighty giant named Goliath 
of Gath. He was armed with a coat of mail,— 
a helmet of brass on his head, frontlets of 
brass upon his legs, and a target of brass be¬ 
tween his shoulders. The staff of his spear 
was like a weaver’s beam, and a soldier bear¬ 
ing a shield went before him. Morning and 
evening he came down into the valley to taunt 
the armies of Israel,—“ Why are ye come 
out to set your battle in array? Am not I a 
Philistine and ye servants to Saul? Choose 
you a man for you and let him come down to 
me. 

Jesse had three sons in Saul’s army, so he 
sent David with parched com and bread and 
cheese, that he might see if all was well with 
them. David saw and heard the giant Phil¬ 
istine as he came out and made his boast. He 
also found out that great honors awaited the 
man who overcame Israel’s terrible foe. 

190 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


David spoke in wonder that the armies of 
Israel fled before Goliath but his eldest brother 
reproved him saying, “ I know thy pride and 
the naughtiness of thy heart; for thou art 
come down that thou mightest see the battle. ,, 
The brother would have sent him home but 
those who stood about took him to Saul, the 
king. 

David said to the king, “ Let no man’s heart 
fail because of him (the giant) ; thy servant 
will go and fight with this Philistine.” Saul 
must have smiled when he said to David, 
“ Thou art but a youth and he a man of war 
from his youth.” David told Saul that when 
he was keeping his father’s sheep, once there 
came a lion and again a bear and each took 
a lamb of the flock and he went out after them 
and took them by hand and slew them, both 
the lion and the bear. This heathen Philis¬ 
tine should be as one of them because he had 
defied the armies of the living God. David 
said, “ The Lord that delivered me out of 
the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear, 
He will deliver me out of the hand of this 
Philistine.” Saul replied, “ Go, and the Lord 
be with thee.” 

Saul put his armour upon David and gave 
him his sword; but David put them off,— 

191 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


he could not use them. He took his staff in 
his hand and selected five smooth stones from 
the brook. He put them in the shepherd’s bag 
which he wore, even in a script, and his sling 
was in his hand. 

Goliath disdained him, for he was only a 
youth, with a ruddy and fair countenance. 
The Philistine said to him, “ Am I a dog that 
thou comest to me with staves ? ” He cursed 
David by all his gods and said, “ Come to me 
and I will give thy flesh to the fowls of the 
air and the beasts of the field.” David an¬ 
swered, “ Thou comest to me with a sword and 
with a spear and with a shield, but I come to 
thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the 
God of the armies of Israel whom thou hast 
defied. This day will the Lord deliver thee 
into mine hand: and I will smite thee and 
take thine head from thee and I will give the 
carcasses of the hosts of the Philistines this 
day unto the fowls of the air and to the wild 
beasts of the earth; that all the earth may 
know that there is a God in Israel. And all 
this assembly shall know that the Lord saveth 
not with the sword and spear; for the battle 
is the Lord’s and he will give you into our 
hands.” 

Then as the giant arose and came to meet 

192 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


David, David ran to meet him, first putting a 
stone in his sling. As he went he whirled the 
sling and drove the stone deep into the giant’s 
forehead. Goliath fell upon his face and Da¬ 
vid stood upon the body and cut off the giant’s 
head with his own sword. 

When the Philistines saw that their cham¬ 
pion was dead, they fled. The Israelites pur¬ 
sued them and the way was strewn with the 
dead and dying Philistines. David took the 
head of Goliath to Jerusalem, but the armour 
he put in his own tent. 

Innocence, purity and truth, with an as¬ 
surance of God’s presence and power, will 
destroy error, and they who have the highest 
understanding of God, will aim at the fore¬ 
head of sin. 


193 



David and Jonathan. 


“ Now it came to pass while David was 
speaking to Saul, that the soul of Jonathan 
was knit to the soul of David and Jonathan 
loved him as his own soul.” The noble na¬ 
ture of Jonathan was attracted by the honesty 
and uprightness of David and a friendship 
awakened that was eternal because it was real. 

Jonathan gave David princely garments, 
his bow, his girdle and even his sword. 
Wherever David went he behaved himself 
wisely and Saul put him over all his men of 
war. He was beloved by Saul’s officers and 
all the people. 

As they were returning triumphantly from 
the slaughter of the Philistines, the women 
went out to meet King Saul with musical in¬ 
struments, dancing, and answering each other 
joyously as they sang, “ Saul hath slain his 
thousands and David his ten thousands.” 
Then the evil spirit of jealousy possessed Saul 
and from that day on he sought the life of 
David. 

All Israel loved David, especially the tribe 
of Judah, because he went out and in before 

194 


THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


them wisely. Saul offered David his eldest 
daughter for a wife, but David answered, 
“ What am I ? and what is my life or my 
family in Israel that I should be son-in-law 
to the king ? ” So the eldest daughter married 
another. 

Now David loved Michal, another daughter 
of the king, and she loved him. Saul, hoping 
to ensnare David through a wife, sent a mes¬ 
senger to him offering him Michal, but David 
said, “ Seemeth it to you a light thing to be 
son-in-law to the king ? ” However, the mes¬ 
senger was very persuasive, and David’s heart 
much more so and he accepted the honor 
offered. He < was told the king desired no 
dowry, only one hundred trophies from the 
camp of the Philistines. Saul thought that 
surely David would be killed in this daring 
attempt. 

David was well pleased now to be the king’9 
son-in-law. He brought Saul double the 
trophies he desired and Michal became David’s 
wife. When Saul saw that the Lord was with 
David, and that Jonathan and Michal both 
loved him, his fears became greater than ever, 
but David daily grew in favor with the people. 

Again and again Jonathan plead with his 
father to be kind to David, but the demon of 

195 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


jealousy possessed Saul. One day as David 
was playing the harp before the king, Saul 
threw his javelin at him. He slipped aside 
and the javelin went into the wall. David 
fled, going to the good Samuel among the 
prophets. 

Again and again Saul sent officers to take 
David but instead they listened to and joined 
the prophets. Then Saul went himself, but 
Love, God, conquered his hatred for a time. 
He stripped off his kingly garments, and all 
day and all night he was with the prophets. 
Again the proverb was renewed, “ Is Saul 
also among the prophets ? ” 

David, leaving the prophets, went to Jona¬ 
than. There was a certain rock where David 
and Jonathan would meet and when David 
was in danger Jonathan would warn him by 
shooting an arrow beyond this rock. After 
Saul returned Jonathan shot an arrow beyond 
the rock and cried after the lad sent to bring 
it back, “ The arrows are beyond thee, make 
speed, haste, stay not.” The lad ran, not 
knowing the words were addressed to the 
hidden David. 

David made haste and came to the house of 
a certain priest and told him he was on urgent 
business. He could stay for nothing but must 

196 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


get bread by the way. There was none for 
him but the bread belonging to the sanctuary, 
and David took it. He needed a weapon and 
there was none for him but the sword of 
Goliath, and he took that. 

When David came to the country of the 
king of Gath, some officers knew him. They 
said, “ This is David, the king of the land 
where they were singing, ‘ Saul hath slain his 
thousands and David his ten thousands/ ” 

Then David was afraid and he feigned 
madness, letting his mouth fall open and 
marking with his finger on the gate. When 
they brought him to the king of Gath he was 
disgusted by what he thought was a poor id¬ 
iot and sent him away. 

All David's brothers and many men who 
were in debt, or distress, or discontented, 
joined him. Thus he soon had a band of about 
six hundred men. 

He took his father and mother into a safe 
place in another country until he might learn 
what God would do for him. Then he and 
his men hid in the wild, cavernous wilderness 
of Engedi, about thirty miles southeast of Je¬ 
rusalem; and David listened to the voice of 
God and did only good. About this time Sam¬ 
uel died and was buried in his house in Ra- 


197 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


mah. Samuel was a true Nazarite and did 
much for the advancement of Israel. He is 
said to have been “the last representative of 
the ancient medieval church of Judaism/’ He 
reunited Israel and the tribe of Judah after 
two centuries of separation; he advanced ed¬ 
ucation and true religion; he was the last and 
best of the judges. He anointed Israel’s first 
two kings and established the first regular 
prophets. When the word went out over the 
land that a prophet had arisen in Ramah, 
it did much toward turning Israel from the 
worship of Baal. 

There was a man in Carmel, in the land 
where David and his men were hiding, whose 
name was Nabal, and his wife’s name was Ab¬ 
igail. He was very rich, but he was churlish 
and evil in his ways; his wife, on the contrary, 
was exceedingly beautiful and good. Now 
David had protected this man’s flocks and 
saved him much trouble so he sent ten of his 
men to him and bade them say, “ Peace be to 
thee and peace be to thine.” They were to 
tell him that David and his men had need of 
food and ask him to send anything he could 
spare. Nabal answered, “ Who is David ? 
and who is the son of Jesse? There be many 
ids 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


servants nowadays that break away from their 
masters.” He would give them nothing. 

One of Nabal’s young men, knowing that 
this would make trouble for them, went to 
Abagail. He told her how David and his men 
had been a wall to their flocks, and also how 
his master had answered David’s salute. He 
said, “ Now therefore consider what thou wilt 
do, for evil is determined against our master 
and against all his household, for he is such 
a son of Belial that a man cannot speak to 
him.” 

Abigail made haste and taking two hundred 
loaves of bread, two bottles of wine, five 
sheep ready dressed, five measures of parched 
corn, an hundred clusters of raisins, and two 
hundred cakes of figs, she started with her 
servants to meet David and his men. 

Nabal means fool. She apologized for her 
husband’s foolishness, and said she wanted 
to thank David for his wisdom and kindness 
in the past and ask an interest in his gentle¬ 
ness in the future when he should come into 
his greatness. For, she said, “ A man is risen 
to pursue thee and to seek thy soul: but the 
soul of my Lord shall be bound in the bundle 
of life with the Lord thy God; and the souls 
of thine enemies, them shall he sling out as 
199 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


from the middle of a sling.” David told her 
to go in peace and rejoiced that he had been 
kept from anger and bloodshed. 

When she returned she found Nabal hold¬ 
ing the feast of a king, very merry and very 
drunken. She did not tell him until morning 
how near destruction he had been. Then he 
became as a stone with fear and in a few days 
he died. David asked Abigail to be his wife, 
for Saul had given Michal to another man. 

Once Saul came into the cave where David 
was hiding and he lay down to sleep. David 
cut off the skirt of his robe while he slept, 
but because of his love and his covenant with 
Jonathan he would not let his men hurt the 
king. 

After Saul left the cave, David followed 
him and called, “ My lord, the king.” When 
Saul looked back David saluted him and said, 
“ Wherefore hearest thou men’s words say¬ 
ing, Behold, David seeketh thy hurt. Behold 
this day the Lord delivered thee into my hand 
and some bade me kill thee but I would not. 
Moreover, my father, see the skirt of thy robe 
in my hand and I cut it off and did not kill 
thee. Why huntest thou me when there is 
no evil in my hand and I have not sinned 
against thee. After whom is the king of Is- 
200 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


rael come out? After whom dost thou pur¬ 
sue? After a dead dog? After a flea? The 
Lord shall judge between me and thee.” 

Again Saul was thrown into David’s power 
and David saved his life. Saul acknowledged 
that David was more righteous than he and 
better fitted to be a king. But it was David’s 
love for Jonathan that restrained his hand. 

Another time when Saul and his men were 
looking for David, they lay asleep in a trench 
and Saul’s spear stood beside him. David 
took the spear and the cruse of water from 
beside his bolster and none awoke, for a deep 
sleep from the Lord had fallen upon them. 

Then David went across to the top of a 
hill at a safe distance and cried to the people 
saying, “Answerest thou not, Abner?” Ab¬ 
ner was Saul’s great general and he called 
back, “ Who art thou that cal lest to the king?” 
David called back, “ Art not thou a valiant 
man? and who is like to thee in Israel? 
Wherefore then hast thou not kept the lord 
thy king? For there came one in to destroy 
the king. And now see where the king’s 
spear is and the cruse of water that was at 
his bolster.” And Saul said, “ Is this thy 
voice, my son David ? ” And David answered, 
“ It is my voice, my lord, O king. Why dost 
201 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


thou pursue after thy servant? What have I 
done? What evil is in my hand? For the 
king of Israel hath come out to seek a flea, 
as when one pursueth a partridge in the 
mountain.” So did David show the littleness 
of Saul’s jealousy that was leading him into 
sin. Then David sent the spear and the cruse 
back to the king and went on his way. 

Just at the close of his reign Saul was sore¬ 
ly pressed by the Philistines and he longed to 
talk with the good and wise Samuel who was 
long since dead. So he disguised himself and 
went to the “ witch of Endor ” by night and 
she said to him, “ Why hast thou deceived 
me, for thou art Saul ? ” He told her not to 
be afraid but to tell him what she saw. She 
said she saw gods ascending out of the earth 
“ and an old man cometh up; and he is covered 
with a mantle.” Saul knew that this was 
Samuel. The prophet reproved him for dis¬ 
turbing his rest and told him as before that 
the Lord had rent his kingdom from him 
and given it to a more righteous neighbor. 

The witch of Endor saw what was in Saul’s 
mind, and Saul’s inner eye saw again the gen¬ 
tle seer who had warned him so long ago, and 
Saul’s consciousness, stricken with its own 
sense of guilt, talked to him with Samuel’s 
202 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


voice, the wise voice that would have saved 
him had he obeyed God’s word. Now he and 
his whole house would be cut off forever. 

The armies of Philistia and Israel came to¬ 
gether on Esdraelon and Mount Gilboa. 
The battle went against Saul. Jonathan and 
his two brothers were slain. The wounded 
Saul fell upon his own sword rather than be 
taken by the Philistines. All Israel forsook 
their cities and fled and the Philistines took 
possession. Thus ended the stormy reign 
of Israel’s first king who was conquered by 
his own fear and died by his own hand. 
Urged on by a foolish jealousy he had kept 
all Israel in strife and bloodshed. 

Saul’s crown and bracelets were brought 
to David at Ziklag,—a city given him by the 
king of Gath. He lamented over Saul and 
Jonathan his friend. He commanded that 
Judah be taught “the song of the bow.” 
“ Thy glory O Israel, is slain upon thy high 
places. How are the mighty fallen! Tell it 
not in Gath, Publish it not in the streets of 
Askelon; Lest the daughters of the Philistines 
rejoice. * * * How are the mighty fallen 

in the midst of the battle! O Jonathan, thou 
wast slain in thine high places. I am dis¬ 
tressed for thee, my brother Jonathan: Very 
203 




THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


pleasant hast thou been with me: Thy love 
to me was wonderful, passing the love of wo¬ 
men. How are the mighty fallen and the 
weapons of war perished.” 

Like a glorious vision of light, the selfless 
love that knit the souls of Jonathan and Da¬ 
vid shines out of this dark story with quiet 
splendor. Their voices have become an an¬ 
them of faithfulness that will grow clearer 
and sweeter as time goes on, for it was an ex¬ 
pression of divine love and is, therefore, 
deathless. 


204 



King David. 


It came to pass,—after Saul’s death,—that 
David enquired of the Lord what he should 
do, and he was told to go up into Judah with 
his men and dwell in the cities of Hebron. 

The men of Judah anointed David king 
over the house of Judah, but Abner, Saul’s 
general, anointed a young son of Saul as king 
over the eleven other tribes. This was the be¬ 
ginning of a civil war, brother against broth¬ 
er, for they were all descendants of one man, 
even Jacob. 

All nations are coming up,—through ig¬ 
norance and bloodshed,—to a higher plane in 
life. This must be so until love toward God 
and neighbor makes men just and merciful, 
unselfish and pure. 

Still, the meekness and gentleness of Ab¬ 
raham and the filial obedience of Jacob was 
the true Israel,—the son of God,—living un¬ 
seen in their midst, and shining fitfully 
through their seers and prophets who were 
scoffed at, jeered at, and set aside. 

During this long war between Israel and 


205 


THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


Judah, the house of David waxed stronger 
and stronger, and the house of Saul waxed 
weaker and weaker. Then Abner and his 
king had a quarrel. Abner sent messengers 
to David, wishing to make a league with 
Judah’s king, but David refused to see Abner 
unless he should bring Michal, Saul’s daugh¬ 
ter, with him. So David and the love of his 
youth were reunited. 

David refused to listen to Abner’s offer 
to betray his king, well knowing that he who 
would betray one king would be false to an¬ 
other; but he sent Abner away in peace. On 
his way home, however, Abner was slain by 
Joab, who thus avenged his brother’s death. 
This grieved David and he caused Joab and 
all Judah to fast and mourn for Abner. He 
himself would not taste food but lamented, 
saying, “ Died Abner a fool’s death ? Thy 
hands were not bound nor thy feet put into 
fetters.” 

The chosen king of the eleven tribes was 
troubled because of Abner’s death. His hands 
became feeble and his own captains slew him. 

Their cruelty did them no good, for David 
punished the slayers with death. 

Then all the elders of Israel came to He¬ 
bron and made a league with David. They 
206 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


anointed him king over all the tribes as he 
already was over Judah. 

Now it seems that David hated the blind 
and the lame and his hatred was well known, 
so when he and his men went up to Jerusa¬ 
lem and came to Zion, its citadel, the Jeb- 
usites of that land thought to keep him away 
by telling him he must take also the lame 
and the blind. David took the stronghold 
of Zion and said, “ Whosoever getteth up to 
the gutter and smiteth the Jebusites and the 
lame and the blind that are hated of David’s 
soul, he shall be chief and captain.” Where¬ 
fore they said, “ The blind and the lame shall 
not come into the house.” The king dwelt 
in Zion and it was called the city of David. 

He built extensively and became great. The 
king of Tyre sent cedar trees and carpenters 
and built him a house. David perceived that 
God had exalted him,—not his own prowess, 
—and that he was exalted for Israel’s sake, 
not his own; thus he added meekness and 
modesty to his wisdom and loyalty. As these 
virtues increased, so did his greatness. 

When the Philistines heard that David had 
been anointed king and had gone up to Je¬ 
rusalem to dwell, they came against him to 
battle; but the king of Israel asked help of 
207 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


the Lord and conquered them. He burned 
and destroyed all their gods and images. 

Then David took thirty thousand chosen 
men and went to bring the ark of the Lord 
up to Jerusalem. It was brought on a new cart 
by a yoke of oxen. Now, no one ever touched 
the ark: it was carried by the poles that went 
through the rings of gold on either side; but 
in one place the oxen shook the cart and Uz- 
zah put forth his hand, holding the ark to 
stay it. He was smitten for his error and died 
beside the ark. Even to this day we are 
told not to try to “ steady the ark,” meaning 
what God has in charge, we should not think 
our wisdom and our strength is needed for its 
accomplishment. If we do, we may be sure 
our error will bring its punishment. David 
was displeased because he thought the Lord 
had meted out this punishment to Uzzali. 
Because of his worldly wisdom and his anger 
he was afraid of the ark and afraid of the 
Lord. He did not take it up to the city of 
David but turned aside and had it taken into 
a house by the way. It was here for three 
months and David was told that great bless¬ 
ings were coming upon the house. Then he 
wanted the ark. He brought it to the city of 
David with gladness. He sacrificed to the 
208 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


ark by the way and danced before the Lord 
with all his might, girded with a linen ephod. 
As the ark of the Lord came into the city of 
David, Michal his wife looked through a win¬ 
dow and saw King David leaping and dan¬ 
cing; then she despised him in her heart for 
his lack of dignity before the people. All the 
people were given bread, meat and wine and 
then they went to their homes. As King 
David went in to bless his own household, 
Michal met him and sarcastically said, “ How 
glorious was the King of Israel today before 
the people and before the maid-servants.” 
David answered her wrathfully and said that 
he had not danced before the servants but 
before the Lord. As he was base in her eyes 
he would be more base in his own eyes, but 
he would be honored of the maid-servants of 
whom she had spoken. Michal never out¬ 
lived his displeasure;—to debase ourselves 
because we are angry with another is very 
unwise. 

David spoke to Nathan the prophet and 
said, “ See I now dwell in a house of cedar, 
but the ark of the Lord dwelleth within cur¬ 
tains.” The Lord said to David through Na¬ 
than, “ Shalt thou build me an house for me 
to dwell in? Whereas I have not dwelt in 
209 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


any house since the time that I brought up 
the children of Israel out of Egypt, even to 
this day, but have walked in a tent and in a 
tabernacle. ,, He was to ask David if the 
Lord had ever said, “Why build ye not me 
a house of cedar ?” Nathan was to remind 
David how the Lord had taken him from the 
sheepcote to be ruler over all Israel, and now 
he would establish him and his seed and his 
kingdom. Of his son who was one day to 
reign, God said, “ He shall build an house for 
my name and I will establish the throne of 
his kingdom forever. I will be his father 
and he shall be my son * * * And thy 

house and thy kingdom shall be established for¬ 
ever before thee: thy throne shall be estab¬ 
lished forever.” 

Then went King David in and sat before 
the Lord and said, “ Who am I, O Lord God ? 
and what is my house that Thou hast brought 
me hitherto? And this was yet a small thing 
in Thy sight, O Lord God; but Thou hast 
spoken of thy servant’s house for a great while 
yet to come. And is this the manner of man, 
O Lord God ? * * * And what can David 
say more unto Thee? for Thou, Lord God, 
knowest thy servant.” 

Here was a ;clear prophecy, a revelation of 
210 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


things to come, when a descendant of David 
should manifest the God-like qualities of 
meekness, gentleness, wisdom and might that 
would make him a prince forever. The dy¬ 
ing Jacob had said, “ The scepter shall not de¬ 
part from Judah and unto him shall the gath¬ 
ering of the people be.” Glimpses of this 
coming king are given even from the begin¬ 
ning of the written history of the Hebrews, 
through the early books of the Bible and in 
the songs of David. About seven hundred 
years before the Christian era they reach 
their fullest expression when Isaiah the proph¬ 
et gave his glorious forecast to the world 
and named this son of David, “Wonderful, 
Counsellor, the great and mighty Lord 
(chief), The Prince of Peace.” He would be 
sought by a people who asked not for him, 
and unto him would the Gentiles look. 

David subdued all the nations round about 
and took great spoil, all of which he dedicated 
to the Lord. “And the Lord preserved Da¬ 
vid, whithersoever he went.” In all his great¬ 
ness and glory, with nations for his servants, 
David’s heart still turned toward Jonathan, 
whom he loved. He found that one of Jona¬ 
than’s sons, Mephibosheth, who was lame, still 
lived. The king restored to him all that had 
211 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


been his father’s, and he, Jonathan’s son, was 
to sit at the table of the king as one of his 
own sons. Knowing King David’s hatred for 
the lame, Mephibosheth fell on his face ask¬ 
ing, “ What is thy servant, that thou shouldest 
look upon such a dead dog as I am ? ” But 
David was gracious and treated him as a child 
of his own. 

It came to pass, after the year was expired, 
in the time when kings went forth to battle, 
David sent his great general Joab, to destroy 
the children of Ammon; but David himself 
tarried at Jerusalem, and was guilty of a 
foolish and wicked deed. He became infatu¬ 
ated with Bath-sheba the wife of Uriah, one 
of his officers; so he wrote a letter to Joab say¬ 
ing, “ Set ye Uriah in the forefront of the 
battle, and retire ye from him that he may be 
smitten and die.” When Joab sent word to 
the king about the battle, the messenger was 
to say, “ Uriah the Hittite is dead also.” 
When the days of mourning were over, Bath- 
sheba became David’s wife and lived in the 
palace also, but the thing that David had done 
displeased the Lord. 

Nathan the prophet, at God’s command, 
said to David, “ There were two men in one 
city; the one rich and the other poor. The 
212 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


rich man had exceeding many flocks and 
herds: but the poor man had nothing save 
one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and 
nourished up, and it grew up together with 
him and his children; it did eat of his own 
meat, and drink of his own cup and lay in 
his bosom and was unto him as a daughter. 
And there came a traveler unto the rich man, 
and he spared to take of his own flock and 
of his own herd to dress for the wayfaring 
man that was come unto him: but took the 
poor man’s lamb, and dressed it for the man 
that was come unto him.” Then David’s an¬ 
ger was greatly kindled against the rich man 
and he said to Nathan, “ As the Lord liveth, 
the man that hath done this thing shall surely 
die, and he shall restore the lamb fourfold 
because he hath done this thing and because 
he had no pity.” And Nathan said to Da¬ 
vid, “ Thou art the man, * * * thou hast 

killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword and 
hast taken his wife to be thy wife. * * now 

therefore the sword shall never depart from 
thine house; because thou hast despised Me 
and taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to 
be thy wife.” Nathan told him that the Lord 
would spare his life, but the little child that 
was to be born to him and Bath-sheba should 
2xb 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


surely die. David loved this little son and 
mourned his loss. 

After awhile another son was born to Da¬ 
vid and his wife Bath-sheba, and they called 
his name Solomon: and the Lord loved and 
blessed the child. 


ZU 



Absalom. 


In all Israel there was none to be praised 
for his beauty as Absalom, King David’s son. 
From the sole of his foot to the crown of his 
head there was no blemish to be found. His 
hair was long and heavy and was cut but once 
a year. He had a very beautiful daughter 
who was named after his sister Tamar. Ab¬ 
salom’s love for this sister was his one re¬ 
deeming virtue, but his love for his sister was 
exceeded by his hatred for his half-brother 
Ammon, whom he slew. This drove him 
from home into exile. After awhile David 
forgave and recalled him, but would not see 
his face. So resentment in the heart of the 
king and wickedness in the heart of Absa¬ 
lom wrought together to accomplish evil. J 
Joab had interceded once with the king 
for Absalom, and Absalom sent for him again, 
but Joab refused to come. Absalom said to 
his servants, “ See, Joab’s field of barley is 
near mine, go and set it on fire.” Then Joab 
arose and went to Absalom and said, “ Where¬ 
fore hast thy servants set my field on fire ? ” 
Absalom answered Joab saying, “ I sent for 

215 


THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


thee saying, Come hither that I may send thee 
to the king to say, Wherefore am I come 
from Geshur? It had been good for me to 
have been there still: now therefore let me 
see the king’s face and if there be any iniquity 
let him kill me.” Joab obeyed, and the king 
sent for Absalom who bowed his face to the 
ground before him, but the king raised him 
and kissed him. This was what Absalom 
wanted, for it opened the way for his ambi¬ 
tions for the future. 

He prepared him chariots and horses and 
fifty men to run before him. Then he stood by 
the way of the gate and when people had a 
controversy he would talk with them, telling 
them their cause was just and right but there 
was no man deputed of the king to hear them. 
He would say, “ O that I were made judge 
in the land, then would I do you justice.” 
Then he would take them by the hand and kiss 
them. Thus Absalom stole the hearts of the 
men of Israel. He gathered a great band 
about him, and meditating evil in his heart, 
prepared to make himself king. Fear took 
possession of King David and he fled from 
the palace into the wilderness. He went up 
by the ascent of Mount Olivet and wept as 
he went. The Levites went with him, bear- 
216 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


ing the ark; and all the people who followed 
him, followed him weeping. 

As the king went on, a man from the house 
of Saul came out and followed on the hill¬ 
side above him throwing stones and dirt and 
cursing the king. David would not let any¬ 
one harm him, but said, “ Let him curse; 
the Lord will requite me good for this curs- 
mg. 

Now among Absalom’s counselors were 
some of David’s true friends in disguise. 
They urged Absalom to gather a vast army 
and go out against David himself, for all 
Israel knew what a mighty man of war Da¬ 
vid was and if the first battle was lost, all was 
lost. They gained time in this way, for Ab¬ 
salom and all Israel united in the plan. Error 
must place itself in position for destruction 
and Absalom’s sin must overtake him in sin’s 
own way. 

One of David’s faithless servants, who stood 
closest to Absalom, soon saw that a stronger 
hand than man’s was leading events and read 
his own doom; he went home, put his house 
in order and hanged himself. 

David, at the request of his officers, re¬ 
mained while the army went to meet the Is¬ 
raelites, but he charged Joab and all his offi- 
217 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


cers saying, “ Deal gently for my sake with 
the young man, even with Absalom,” and all 
the people heard him. 

The battle was in the woods of Ephraim 
and twenty thousand of the men of Israel 
were slain by King David’s army, and the 
woods devoured more than the sword. 

Absalom rode under the boughs of a great 
oak, and his head with its beautiful hair was 
caught in the tree, and his body was left hang¬ 
ing between heaven and earth, and Joab sent 
three darts through his heart. 

They buried Absalom there in the woods, 
heaping great stones upon his grave. Then 
all Israel fled to their tents. Absalom had 
built a pillar and named it for himself and 
the people called it Absalom’s place, but Ab¬ 
salom rested under a heap of stones in the 
wilderness. 

King David sat between two gates waiting 
for news of the battle. A messenger came 
running and told him “ All is well,” but would 
not tell him Absalom was dead. The king 
asked the second messenger also, “ Is the 
young man Absalom safe?” The messenger 
answered, “ The enemies of my Lord the King 
and all that rise up against thee to do thee 
hurt, be as that young man is.” Then the 
218 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


king went up to the chamber over the gate and 
wept as he went. “ O my son Absalom, my 
son, my son Absalom, would God I had died 
for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son.” 

When the people saw how great was Da¬ 
vid’s grief and how their victory was turned 
to mourning, they crept back to Jerusalem 
like men ashamed. 

Joab reasoned with the king, leading him 
to think of his people instead of his grief and 
David returned to Jerusalem, “but it bowed 
the heart of all Judah as if it were the heart 
of one man.” 

The men of Israel and the men of Judah 
quarreled like foolish children about their 
king. Judah said he was more their king be¬ 
cause he was born of the house of Judah: 
Israel said he was more their king because 
they were ten tribes; and finally Sheba led a 
revolt. He blew a trumpet and said, “ We 
have no part in David, neither have we in¬ 
heritance in the son of Jesse; every man to 
his tents, O Israel.” All Israel followed him. 

Joab and his mighty men of war went out 
against Sheba and when he was destroyed, 
the men of Israel went back to their homes. 

Then came a famine in the land. David was 
beginning to see that all great calamities 

219 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


could be traced to some moral cause and that 
every wrong must be righted as far as pos¬ 
sible before peace and prosperity could be 
attained. They found the cause of this trou¬ 
ble to be the breaking of the covenant with 
a bordering nation, and when these people 
were satisfied the famine ceased. 

David began to see the error of his ways 
and arranged his household upon a different 
plan and tried to live a purer life. Then Da¬ 
vid sang a song of praise to God, thanking 
Him for his many blessings, His goodness and 
His wonderful ways. “ And He shall be as 
the light of the morning when the sun ris- 
eth, even a morning without clouds; as the 
tender grass springing out of the earth by 
clear shining after rain.” 

“ Thou hast also given me the shield of Thy 
salvation; and Thy gentleness hath made 
me great.” 

It were well if this great spiritual unfold¬ 
ing and the grand words it inspired might 
close the history of David the king, but one 
more page, dark with error because of Da¬ 
vid’s pride and self-will, had still to be written. 

The king wanted to know how great his 
nation was. He called Joab and his officers 
to go out and number the people. Joab re- 
220 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


minded him that the Lord would add to his 
people an hundred fold and he should see it, 
then added, “ but why doth my lord the king 
delight in this thing ? ” 

David insisted that the people be numbered 
even from Dan to Beer-sheba. It took nine 
months and twenty days and then the officers 
reported eight hundred thousand men of war 
in Israel, and five hundred thousand in Judah. 
Then David's heart smote him and he realized 
his foolishness and vanity. The Lord spake to 
him through Gad the seer saying, “ Shall 
seven years of famine come unto thee in thy 
land? or wilt thou flee three months before 
thine enemies while they pursue thee? or 
that there be three days of pestilence in thy 
land? Now advise and see what answer I 
shall return to him that sent me ? ” 

David saw that his great hosts were to be 
depleted and he was to be left in ignorance 
of their number as before. The king said, 
“ Let us fall now into the hands of the Lord, 
for his mercies are great; and let me not fall 
into the hands of men.” So the land was 
stricken with the plague from Dan even to 
Beer-sheba and many of the people died. 

When the plague came to Jerusalem Da¬ 
vid spoke to the Lord and said, “ Lo, I have 
221 




THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


sinned, and I have done wickedly; but these 
sheep, what have they done ? Let Thine hand, 
I pray Thee, be against me and my-father’s 
house.” With this prayer in his heart, David 
built an altar and the plague ceased. That 
a child should suffer for the sin of its par¬ 
ents, or a nation for the pride of its king, is 
not God’s law, but the law of sin. 

The law of God is the law of love, the law 
of harmony, but the breaking of this law is 
the path into all discord. 


222 



Solomon. 


David had been a great king and was be¬ 
loved by all his people. He reclaimed the 
whole of the promised land and gave the 
purest religion of the age opportunity to de¬ 
velop. In his psalms he gave to the world 
for all time the fruit of his repentance and 
understanding of God’s gentle presence and 
power. But David was old and stricken with 
years and Adonijah, his- son, and Solomon’s 
half-brother, exalted himself, saying, “ I will 
be king,” and he prepared chariots and horse¬ 
men and fifty men to run before him. His 
father had not interfered or said, “ Why hast 
thou done so?” Joab was his friend and 
helped him. 

Adonijah made a feast, to which he in¬ 
vited several prominent men and all the king’s 
sons except Solomon. Nathan the prophet 
came to Solomon’s mother and told her that 
Adonijah had made himself king and David 
knew it not. Nathan advised her to tell the 
king and while she was talking he would 
come in and confirm her words. Then Sol¬ 
omon’s mother went to the king and did obei- 
223 


THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


sance. The king asked, “ What wouldst 
thou ? ” She said, “ My lord, thou swarest 
by the Lord thy God unto thine handmaid 
saying, Assuredly Solomon thy son shall reign 
after me, and he shall sit upon my throne. 
And now behold, Adonijah reigneth, and now, 
my lord the king, thou knowest it not.” Then 
Nathan came in and told the king it was true. 
He told him about the feast and that Solomon 
alone of all the princes was not invited. “And 
thou, my lord O king, the eyes of all Israel 
are upon thee, that thou shouldst tell them 
who shall sit on the throne of my lord the 
king after him.” 

David sent Zadok the priest, Nathan the 
prophet and some of his trusty servants to 
anoint Solomon king in his place. He was to 
ride upon the king’s mule and they were to 
blow the trumpet saying, “ God save King 
Solomon.” David appointed Solomon ruler 
over Israel and over Judah. When it was 
done the people shouted, “ God save King 
Solomon,” and they piped with pipes and re¬ 
joiced with great joy. 

Adonijah and his guests heard it and were 
afraid. Every man left the feast and went 
his own way. It was told Solomon that his 
brother had fled to the horns of the altar in 
224 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


the tabernacle that he might not be killed. 
Then Solomon said, “If he will show him¬ 
self a worthy man there shall not an hair of 
him fall to the earth, but if wickedness be 
found in him he shall surely die.” 

David talked with Solomon and told him to 
keep the charge of their God, to walk in His 
ways, and he would prosper in all he did. 
Then he warned him against Joab who had 
shed the blood of war in peace, who had blood 
upon his girdle and in his shoes. David said 
of him, “ Let not his hoar head go down to 
the grave in peace. ,, This was justice, not re¬ 
venge 

Joab began to see his time had come and 
he, too, ran and hung upon the altar, but as 
his death was to avenge innocent blood, he 
was slain there. 

Solomon loved the Lord and walked in the 
statutes of David his father. Upon being made 
king he sacrificed and burnt incense in high 
places, for there was no house built in the 
name of the Lord at that time. The great 
high-place was Gibeon. A thousand burnt 
offerings did Solomon offer upon that altar. 
“ And the Lord appeared to Solomon in a 
dream by night: and God said, Ask what I 
shall give thee.” Solomon acknowledged the 
225 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


Lord’s kindness to David his father in giving 
him a son to sit on the throne, then said, 
“And now, O Lord my God, Thou hast made 
Thy servant king instead of David my father; 
I know not how to go out or come in. And 
Thy servant is in the midst of a great people 
Thou hast chosen, a great people that cannot 
be numbered nor counted for multitude. Give 
therefore Thy servant an understanding heart 
to judge Thy people, that I may discern be¬ 
tween good and bad: for who is able to judge 
this so great a people ? ” It pleased the Lord 
that Solomon had asked this thing. The 
Lord said that because he had not asked long 
life for himself, nor riches, nor the life of 
his enemies but had asked wisdom, that he 
should have an understanding heart, and also 
that which he had not asked for,—riches and 
honor; so that there should be no king like 
unto him; and length of days if he would 
walk in the Lord’s ways. Solomon awoke 
and behold, it was a dream. He went to Je¬ 
rusalem and stood before the ark and offered 
burnt offerings and peace offerings, then 
made a feast to all his servants. 

Two women who had been quarreling were 
brought before the king. One said the other 
woman’s child had died in the night, and she 
226 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


had stolen her ;child which was the same age, 
and laid the dead body in its place. The other 
denied it saying, “ Nay, but the dead child 
is thine and the living is my son.” No one 
knew these children but the mothers them¬ 
selves, and so they quarreled before the king. 
Solomon said, “ Bring me a sword. Now 
divide the living child in two and give each 
woman half.” The true mother cried out, “ O 
my lord, give her the living child, and in no 
wise slay it.” But the other said, “ Let it be 
neither mine nor thine, but divide it.” Then 
the king knew the true mother and gave the 
living child to her. All Israel saw that the 
wisdom of God was in Solomon. 

Judah and Israel dwelt safely, every man 
under his vine and fig tree, from Dan even to 
Beer-sheba, all the days of Solomon. 

Solomon had forty thousand horses for his 
chariots and twelve thousand horsemen. Mag¬ 
nificent provision was made for his household. 
God gave Solomon wisdom and largeness of 
heart. His wisdom excelled all the wisdom 
of the East and of Egypt. His fame was in all 
nations. He spake three thousand proverbs 
and his songs were a thousand and five. His 
wisdom included all learning; he knew all 
about trees, beasts, fowls, creeping things 
227 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


and fishes. All the kings of the earth heard 
of him and came to hear him speak. Hiram, 
king of Tyre, had always been a great ad¬ 
mirer of David, and so Solomon sent to him 
reminding him how David could not build a 
house to the Lord as God had forbidden Da¬ 
vid to build him an house because he had shed 
much blood upon the earth. Moreover, that 
the Lord had given Solomon peace. Now Sol¬ 
omon purposed to build a house, as the Lord 
had said a son of David should build Him an 
house. Solomon wanted to buy of Hiram 
cedar trees out of Lebanon, for all knew none 
had skill to hew timber like the people of 
Hiram. Hiram gave Solomon cedar trees 
and fir trees, and Solomon gave Hiram twent) 
thousand measures of wheat and twent\ 
measures of pure oil every year. 

The king chose thirty thousand men and 
sent them to Lebanon to help with the work; 
ten thousand at a time. They would stay one 
month and then at home two months. Great 
armies were chosen to bear burdens and to 
hew in the mountains. Three thousand three 
hundred officers were chosen to rule the peo¬ 
ple that were at work. They brought great 
stones, costly stones, and hewed stones, to 
lay the foundation of the temple. Everything 
228 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


was prepared before it was brought to the 
place of building, so that there was no sound 
of hammer or ax nor tool of iron heard in 
the house of the Lord. The last command of 
David had been to number the Levites for 
service in the temple under Aaron’s sons, so 
the priests were all ready. So Solomon began 
to build the house according to the pattern 
David had given him. It was overlaid within 
with pure gold, and there were windows of 
narrow light. The walls were carved with 
figures, with palm trees, with buds and open 
flowers within and without. The floors also 
were overlaid with gold. 

Two cherubim were within the “ Holy of 
Holies ”; the wing of one touched the one 
wall and the wing of the other touched the 
opposite wall, and the two other wings 
touched each other in the midst of the house. 
These cherubim also were overlaid with gold. 
In seven years and six months was the house 
finished. 

Solomon was thirteen years in building his 
own house. It, too, was built of the trees of 
Lebanon, and the windows were light against 
light in three rows. He made a porch for 
the throne and it was called the porch of judg¬ 
ment. The house where he was to dwell had 

229 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


another court within the porch which was 
of like work. Solomon also made another 
house for his wife, Pharaoh’s daughter, like 
unto this porch. 

Solomon had sent for Hiram, the son of a 
widow in Tyre, of the tribe of Naphtali. He 
was filled with wisdom and understanding 
to do cunning work in brass. He came and 
wrought for the king. He cast two pillars of 
brass, covered at the top with lily work and 
pomegranates. The pillars were set in the 
porch of the temple, and the one on the right 
was called Jachin (firm and strong), and the 
one on the left Boaz (strong and fleet). 

Hiram also made a wonderful sea of brass. 
Under the rim of this molten sea were 
two rows of knops (gourds or cucum¬ 
bers) of brass, cast when the basin was cast. 
The brim of it was like the brim of a cup, 
wrought with flowers like lilies. It held two 
thousand baths and stood upon twelve brazen 
oxen, three looking toward the North, three 
looking toward the West, three toward the 
South, and three toward the East. On the 
borders that were between the ledges, were 
lions and oxen and cherubim. Every base 
had four brazen wheels like chariot wheels in 
workmanship. 


230 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


When the temple was finished, Solomon 
brought into it all the treasures his father 
had collected, the holy things of David. They 
brought the ark of the covenant and the tab¬ 
ernacle and all that belonged to it and placed 
it in the house of the Lord. The ark was 
placed under the wings of the cherubim, but 
there was nothing in the ark but the two 
tables of stone which Moses put there at 
Horeb. Then the glory of the Lord filled the 
temple, as it will where the ten command¬ 
ments are cherished. The priests could not 
stand to minister because of the cloud. Then 
spake Solomon, “ The Lord said He would 
dwell in the thick darkness.” Solomon 
knew that in storm or darkness, light or calm, 
God is omnipresent. 

The king and all Israel with him offered 
prayers and sacrifices to the Lord. There was 
a feast for eight days then the people were 
dismissed. Thus was the great temple ded¬ 
icated, and the people went to their tents joy¬ 
ful and glad of heart, for all the goodness 
the Lord had done for David his servant and 
for Israel his people. 

The Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream 
the second time and renewed his promise to 
keep Israel and his throne forever, if he did 

231 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


not go after and serve other gods. But if he 
served other gods, Israel should be cut off 
from their land and the house which had been 
hallowed to the Lord’s name should be cast 
out of sight, and Israel should become a by¬ 
word to all the people; in which case, even 
though this house was so holy, people should 
hiss at it when they passed and ask, “ Why 
hath the Lord done this ? ” and the answer 
would be, “Because they forsook the Lord and 
laid hold upon other gods.” 

Solomon gave King Hiram twenty cities in 
the land of Galilee, but they pleased him not, 
so Solomon raised a levy to pay for the tem¬ 
ple, the king’s house and the walls of Jeru¬ 
salem. 

Solomon’s reign was peaceful and pros¬ 
perous. The public highways became safe, the 
commerce of the sea was established, new 
avenues were opened to the progress of the 
people, and literature and learning flourished. 
Great public improvements were carried out; 
the city was walled in and a wonderful water 
supply with underground reservoirs provided. 
The city was beautified by the magnificent 
temple, the king’s house that he built for his 
wife, (Pharaoh’s daughter), the king’s gar¬ 
dens and a new Milo. 


232 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


Kings and honored men from many coun¬ 
tries visited Jerusalem, and Solomon, the great 
king whose fame had gone abroad through 
all the world. 

The queen of Sheba, with a great retinue 
of servants, with camels laden with spices, 
gold and precious stones, came to prove him 
with hard questions concerning the name of 
the Lord. She communed with him of all 
that was in her heart and acknowledged that 
half of all his greatness had not been told her. 

Still, under all this prosperity and splen¬ 
dor was a silent force working toward its de¬ 
struction. The taxpayers’ dissatisfaction made 
the people restless, and polygamy, that most 
subtle and inexorable destroyer of progress, 
had gained a stronghold among the children 
of Israel. 

God commanded the Israelites not to inter¬ 
marry with the nations around them, for they 
were worshippers of idols; but Solomon’s 
heart bowed down at the altar of sensuality 
and he loved many strange women. 

He married the daughters of the surround¬ 
ing kings until he had seven hundred wives. 
His heart was not perfect with the Lord his 
God. He built high altars to the gods of his 
heathen wives, and, to please them, went after 
233 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


strange gods with them, even joining in the 
abominable rites of Astarte. 

It may have been about the time of this 
idolatrous worship that Solomon wrote his 
“ Song of Songs.” When the proverbs were 
written he had begun to see the barrenness 
of worldly wisdom and pleasure. Ecclesi¬ 
astes, whether written by Solomon at a later 
date, or about him after his death, empha¬ 
sizes the thought that mere human knowledge 
and experience is only vanity. Obedience to 
the will of God,—man in God’s likeness,— 
is the only true life. 

Solomon died at the age of fifty-eight, when 
he should have been in the prime of his use¬ 
fulness. He was buried with David his father 
in the city of David. 


234 



A Divided Kingdom. 


After the death of Solomon, Rehoboam, his 
son, was made king. Then the people sent for 
Jeroboam, who was in Egypt, where he had 
fled from the wrath of Solomon, and he, with 
all the congregation of Israel, came to speak 
to Rehoboam the king. 

They said, “ Thy father made our yoke 
grievous, now therefore make thou the griev¬ 
ous service of thy father, and his heavy yoke 
which he put upon us, lighter, and we will 
serve thee.” 

When three days were past, he spoke to the 
Israelites roughly and said, “ My father made 
your yoke heavy and I will add to your yoke: 
my father also chastised you with whips 
but I will chastise you with scorpions.” 

When the Israelites saw the temper of the 
king they answered, “ What portion have we 
in David? neither have we inheritance in the 
son of Jesse: to your tents, O Israel: now, 
see to thine own house, David.” 

Thus Israel rebelled against the house of 
David and they were never united again. 
The ten tribes made Jeroboam their king 

235 


THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


and two, Judah and Benjamin, followed Re- 
hoboam. Justice and kind words would have 
held all the tribes together and made Reho- 
boam a great king over a great nation; but 
arrogance and greed overreached themselves, 
as they always will, and two foolish men 
reigned over a divided kingdom, which, year 
by year, drifted farther and farther away from 
the God-given directions voiced by their seers 
and prophets. 

However, Solomon’s reign had made this 
division imperative, for had the nation gone 
on as it was, it would, like other nations, have 
become submerged and common-place. Now, 
Judah, the heart of Israel, still lives, and also 
the “ Lion of the house of Judah,” to whom 
every knee shall bow. 

Jeroboam built a city in Mount Ephriam 
and dwelt there; but he was not at peace with 
himself. He said in his heart that Israel 
would go to Jerusalem to worship and turn 
again to the king of Judah. He made two 
calves of gold and said to the people, “ It is 
too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: 
behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee 
up out of the land of Egypt.” 

He set up the one in Bethel and the other 
in Dan. He made priests of the lowest of the 

236 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


people, not of the tribe of Levi. He devised 
plans in his own heart and made a feast unto 
the children of Israel. He offered burnt of¬ 
ferings upon the altar, and burnt incense be¬ 
fore the golden calves. Thus he kept Israel 
content to stay away from Jerusalem and the 
temple of the true God. 

While Jeroboam was burning incense be¬ 
fore the golden calf, there came a man of God 
out of Judah and cried against the altar, “ O 
altar, altar, thus saith the Lord: Behold a 
child shall be born unto the house of David, 
Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he offer 
the priests of thy high places that burn in¬ 
cense upon thee, and men’s bones shall be 
burnt upon thee.” The king put forth his 
hand and commanded the people to lay hold 
upon the prophet, and his hand was withered 
up, so he could not pull it to him again. Then 
he plead with the man of God and his hand 
was healed. Still, they went on in their evil 
ways. Judah also did evil in the sight of 
the Lord. They worshipped Astaroth the god¬ 
dess of the Zidonians, Chemosh the god of 
the Moabites, and Milcom or Moloch, the god 
of the children of Ammon. 

Israel made alliance with Egypt, thus com¬ 
pelling Judah to become allied with Damas- 
237 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


jcus. In the fifth year of Rehoboam’s reign, 
the king of Egypt came up to Jerusalem and 
took away the treasures of the temple and the 
king’s house that Solomon had built. And 
there was war between Rehoboam and Jero¬ 
boam all their days. Then Abijam reigned 
over Judah and Nadab over Israel. Baasha 
took the throne of Judah and destroyed all the 
house of Jeroboam. 

Abijam’s wicked reign was short, but Asa, 
his son, reigned forty-one years in Judah and 
did that which was right in the sight of the 
Lord, as did his father David. He destroyed 
all the altars built to heathen gods: he even 
destroyed the idol his mother had made and 
removed her from being queen. Although 
the high places still remained in his kingdom, 
Asa’s heart was perfect before the Lord. 

Israel and Judah were continually at war. 
Asa fought many battles and won great vic¬ 
tories. In times of peace, he built cities and 
fenced them in. He had armies of valiant 
men drawn from the tribes of Judah and 
Benjamin. 

A prophet went to Asa and said, “ Hear ye 
me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin. The 
Lord is with you while ye be with him; and 
if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but 

238 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


if ye forsake him, he will forsake you. Now 
for a long time Israel hath been without the 
true God and without a teaching priest, and 
without a law. But when they in their trouble 
did turn unto the Lord God of Israel, and 
sought him, he was found of them. But in 
those times (when they sought him not), 
there was no peace to him that went out or to 
him that came in * * * and nation was 

destroyed of nation and city of city. * * * 

Be ye strong, therefore and let not your hands 
be weak; your work shall be rewarded.” 
Then Asa and all his people decided to seek 
the God of their fathers with all their heart 
and with all their soul and there was peace 
until the thirty-fifth year of Asa’s reign. 

Then the king of Israel came up against 
Judah and built a city, Ramah, near Jerusa¬ 
lem, to let none in or out of Asa’s people. 
Asa turned from God, his true strength, and 
renewed the league with the king of Syria, 
giving him costly gifts from the temple and 
from the palace. The king of Syria began 
destroying the cities of Israel so that Israel’s 
king left off building Ramah, for he had 
enough to do elsewhere. 

A prophet reproved Asa because he turned 
to the king of Syria instead of to the Lord, 
239 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


and said, “ Herein thou hast done foolishly 
and from henceforth thou shalt have wars.” 
Asa was in a great rage with the prophet for 
this. He threw him into prison and op¬ 
pressed some of his people also. It has been 
the great curse of Israel and Judah that they 
have ill-treated their seers and prophets when 
their faults have been reproved, and the right 
path pointed out to them. 

Asa, in the thirty-ninth year of his reign, 
was diseased in his feet, and his disease was 
very great, “ yet in his disease he sought not 
to the Lord but to the physicians ” and he died 
in the forty-first year of his reign. “And 
they buried him in his own sepulchre which he 
had made for himself in the city of David, 
and laid him in the bed which was filled with 
sweet odors and divers kinds of spices pre¬ 
pared by the apothecaries’ art; and they made 
a great burning for him.” His son Jehoshaphat 
reigned in his stead. Baasha, king of Israel, 
was also in great trouble. His house was to 
be cut off as he had slain all the house of 
Jeroboam. Baasha died, then followed Elah, 
Zimri, Omri and Ahab, all wicked kings. 
Ahab, above all others, did wickedly, for he 
married Jezebel, a heathen princess, and built 
in his own city a house to her god Baal and 
240 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


worshipped there. Elijah the Tishbite warned 
Ahab, telling him that because of its worship 
there should be a drought and famine. This 
angered the king and Elijah was told by the 
Lord where he should hide. He would be fed 
by ravens and could drink of the brook that 
ran by his hiding place. 

Baal was supposed to be the god of rain 
and the growing forces. 

After awhile the brook of which Elijah 
drank dried up and he was told by the Lord 
to go to a certain widow, who was a good 
woman, and she was to feed Elijah and be fed 
by the prophet's understanding of God. 

He left the dried-up brook where the ravens 
had brought him bread and meat every morn¬ 
ing and evening, and he found the widow 
gathering sticks. He called to her, “ Fetch 
me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel that 
I may drink." As she was going he called 
again, “ Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of 
bread in thine hand." She said, “As the 
Lord thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but 
a handful of meal in a barrel and a little oil 
in a cruse; and behold, I am gathering two 
sticks that I may go in and dress it for me 
and my son, that we may eat it and die.” 
Elijah said, “ Fear not, go and do as thou 

241 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


hast said; but make me thereof a little cake 
first and bring it unto me, and after make for 
thee and thy son. For thus saith the Lord 
God of Israel. The barrel of meal shall not 
waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail until 
the day that the Lord sendeth rain upon the 
earth.” It was as Elijah had promised. 

Then it came to pass that the son of the 
widow fell sick and died and she appealed to 
Elijah and he prayed to the Lord for the 
child’s life, and the child revived. Elijah took 
him unto his mother and said, “ See, thy son 
liveth.” The woman said to Elijah, “ Now 
by this I know that thou art a man of God, 
and that the word of the Lord in thy mouth is 
truth.” All through the Bible those who un¬ 
derstood God and willingly obeyed His will, 
knew how to pray the prayer that healed the 
sick. This healing also proved their nearness 
to the truth. 

The governor of King Ahab’s house was 
Obadiah, a man who loved the Lord, and 
when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the Lord, 
he hid an hundred of them and fed them with 
bread and water. 

At last Ahab and Obadiah went out in dif¬ 
ferent ways to look for grass and water for 
the cattle, and Obadiah met Elijah and fell 

242 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


on his face before him and said, “Art thou 
my lord Elijah?” The prophet answered, 
“ I am; go tell thy lord, behold, Elijah is 
here.” Obadiah answered, “ What have I 
sinned that thou wouldst deliver thy servant 
into the hand of Ahab to slay me? As the 
Lord thy God liveth, there is no nation or 
kingdom whither my lord hath not sent to seek 
thee; and when they said, He is not there; 
he took an oath of the kingdom and nation 
that they found thee not. And now thou 
sayest. Go tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is 
here. And it shall come to pass as soon as 
I am gone from thee, that the Spirit of the 
Lord shall carry thee whither I know not; so 
when I come and tell Ahab and he cannot 
find thee, he shall slay me.” 

He told Elijah that when Jezebel had the 
prophets slain in the land, he had hidden and 
fed one hundred of them, “ and now thou say¬ 
est, Go tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here.” 

Then Elijah went to Ahab himself and the 
king asked if he was Elijah “who troubleth 
Israel.” Elijah replied that it was Ahab’s 
own wickedness, and the wickedness of his 
father's house, that brought trouble upon 
Israel. Elijah told Ahab to gather all Israel 
together with the four hundred prophets of 
243 



THE LURE OF THE BOOR 


Baal who sat at Jezebel’s table, at Mount 
Carmel; and when they were gathered to¬ 
gether he said to the people, “ How long halt 
ye between two opinions? If the Lord be 
God, follow him; but if Baal, follow him.” 
They answered him not a word. Then said 
Elijah to the people, “ I, even I only, remain 
a prophet of the Lord, but Baal’s prophets are 
four hundred and fifty.” 

Elijah told them to get two bullocks and 
give Baal’s prophets one and have them dress 
it and lay it upon wood with no fire under it. 
He would dress the other and lay it upon 
wood with no fire under; and they should call 
upon Baal and he would call upon the name 
of the Lord; “ The God that answereth by 
fire,” said he, “ let him be God.” And the 
people said, “ It is well.” The prophets of 
Baal dressed the offering and put it upon the 
altar they had made and called upon the name 
of Baal from morning until noon, saying, “ O 
Baal, hear us,” but no voice answered; they 
leaped upon the altar they had made, but there 
was no sign. 

Elijah mocked them, saying, “ Cry aloud; 
for he is a god: either he is talking, or he is 
on a journey, or pe rad venture he sleepeth, and 
must be awaked.” They .cried aloud, leaped 
244 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


about, and slashed themselves with knives, as 
was their manner. 

Toward the time of the evening sacrifice, 
Elijah repaired the altar of the Lord that had 
been thrown down, and he put around it 
twelve stones for the twelve tribes of Israel, 
and dug a trench around them, and laid the 
offering and the wood upon the altar. He 
told them to pour four barrels of water over 
the offering and over the wood, then twice 
again. He also had the trenches filled with 
water. 

Then Elijah prayed, “ Lord God of Abra¬ 
ham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known this day 
that Thou art God in Israel, and that I am 
thy servant, and that I have done all these 
things at thy word. Hear me, O Lord, hear 
me, that this people may know that Thou art 
the Lord God and that Thou hast turned their 
heart back again.” 

Then the fire of the Lord fell and con¬ 
sumed the sacrifice, the wood, the stones, even 
the dust and the water that was in the 
trenches. Then the people fell upon their 
faces and said, “ The Lord, he is the God, the 
Lord he is the God.” They killed all the 
prophets of Baal that not one escaped. 

Then Elijah went away and prayed for 
245 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


rain. He sent his servant to look toward the 
sea, but he saw nothing. Still Elijah prayed. 
Seven times he sent his servant to look toward 
the sea, and the seventh time he saw a small 
cloud. Then the servant was sent to the king 
to tell him to prepare his chariot and get home 
quickly, that the rain should not stop him. 
Everything grew black with clouds and wind 
and there was a great rain. 

The worship of Baal had been so degrading 
to a people who had known the true God that 
a famine had fallen upon the land. A low 
grade of thought brings about a low grade of 
life to any nation; but when multitudes of the 
people had acknowledged that “ The Lord, 
He is the God,” rain fell and the land was re¬ 
freshed. 

However, retribution was close upon Elijah 
for his unkind vengeance upon the prophets, 
whom he should have left to the wisdom of 
God and not to the sword of man. When the 
king told Jezebel what had been done, she was 
very angry. Fear fell upon Elijah and he fled 
alone into the wilderness. He sat under a 
juniper tree and asked God to let him die. He 
slept from weariness until an angel touched 
him and told him to “Arise and eat.” He saw 
a cake baking on some coals, and a cruse of 

246 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


water by him. He ate and then slept again. 
Twice Elijah ate under the juniper tree, and 
then went in that strength forty days and 
forty nights, unto Mount Horeb, the Mount of 
God. Elijah hid in a cave but the voice of 
God found him and said, “ What doest thou 
here, Elijah?” The prophet began excusing 
himself, telling the Lord how good he had 
been, and how the children of Israel had for¬ 
saken his covenant, thrown down the altars, 
and slain the prophets. 

He was told to come out of the cave and 
stand before the Lord. He was not to hide 
his temper and self-justification but bring it 
into the bright light of Truth,—“ stand before 
the Lord.” Then his confusion and fear was 
typified by a whirlwind, an earthquake and 
purifying fire. For as Elijah stood upon the 
mount, behold, the Lord passed by, and a 
strong wind rent the mountains and broke the 
rocks, but the Lord was not in the wind; and 
after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord 
was not in the earthquake; and after the earth¬ 
quake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire; 
and after the fire a still small voice. Meekly 
Elijah hid his face and there came again a 
voice, “ What dost thou here, Elijah? ” Why 
had he not stayed at his post, and trusted the 
247 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


power that had so long protected him ? 
Elijah gave the same answer but in a 
chastened spirit and with his face hidden in 
his mantle. He was told to go and anoint 
Hazael to be king over Syria, and Jehu to be 
king over Israel, and Elisha to be prophet in 
his place. Elijah obeyed the still small voice. 

Now Ahab was trying to live a better life 
and the Lord helped him. When the king of 
Syria and thirty-two other kings with him 
sent word that they were coming to take his 
people captive and rob him of his silver and 
gold, he returned the answer, “ Let not him 
that girdeth on his harness boast himself as 
he that putteth it off.” 

This great army came against Israel in the 
hills and was overcome. They fled after great 
slaughter. Then the Syrians said, “ Israel’s 
God is a god of the hills, we will gather an¬ 
other great army and destroy them on the 
plains.” 

The Syrians set themselves, with all their 
armies, in battle array on the plains, filling the 
country. The Israelites pitched before them, 
“ like two little flocks of kids,” but they slew 
of the Syrians an hundred and twenty thou¬ 
sand footmen, and a wall fell upon twenty- 
seven thousand of those that were left. Then 


248 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


the king of Syria came to the king of Israel 
in sackcloth and ashes and begged for his 
life. Ahab said, “ He is my brother,” and 
forgave him. After this he foolishly cov¬ 
enanted with the king of Syria and brought 
more trouble upon his house. 

At this time Naboth had a vineyard near 
Ahab’s palace and the king wanted it, but 
Naboth would neither sell nor trade, but kept 
it for himself. This fretted the king, and 
Jezebel said to him, “ Dost thou not govern 
the kingdom of Israel? let thine heart be 
merry: I will give thee the vineyard.” So she 
schemed for Naboth’s death, then she told the 
king to take possession of the vineyard. 

As the king walked through the vineyard 
of Naboth he met Elijah and he said, “ Hast 
thou found me, O mine enemy?” Elijah 
answered, “ I have found thee * * * * 

Hast thou killed and also taken possession?” 
Elijah prophesied, “ Behold, evil shall come 
upon thee and thy house shall be cut off as 
was the house of Jeroboam, and the dogs shall 
eat Jezebel at the walls of the city.” There 
was none like unto Ahab that did sell himself 
to work wickedness in the sight of the Lord, 
whom Jezebel his wife stirred up. 

Now the king of Israel and the king of Ju- 
249 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


dah, Jehoshaphat, were good friends during 
Ahab’s reign, but the king of Syria did not 
keep his word with Ahab. Ahab asked the 
king of Judah to go out with him to battle. 
The king of Judah answered, “ I am as thou 
art; my people as thy people; my horses as 
thy horses.” First the king of Judah wanted 
Ahab to enquire of the Lord if it was right 
and all the prophets said, “ Go, for the battle 
is yours.” 

Then the king of Judah asked if there was 
not yet another prophet in his kingdom of 
whom they might enquire. Ahab said there 
was one more, but they hated him. The king 
of Judah gently said, “ Let not the king say 
so, but send for him.” So they brought 
Micaiah. When he heard what all the other 
prophets had said he mockingly told the king 
to go and prosper. Ahab was very angry 
and warned him to speak the truth. 

Then the prophet said, “ I saw all Israel 
scattered upon the hills as sheep that have not 
a shepherd: and the Lord said, These have 
no master, let them return every man to his 
house in peace.” Then he told Ahab a lying 
spirit had gone out to speak through the 
mouths of his prophets for his undoing, and 
if he went out to battle he would never re- 
250 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


turn. But they struck the prophet in the face 
and threw him in prison, and went out against 
the king of Syria. Ahab disguised himself 
and went in a chariot, but the king of Judah 
wore his kingly robes. Now the king of Syria 
had told his men to pay no attention to small 
or great, but to slay only the king of Israel. 
The king of Judah had a narrow escape until 
they knew he was not the king of Israel, but 
an arrow shot at a venture killed Ahab and 
he died in his chariot. Later, the wicked 
Jezebel, with her painted face, was thrown 
from her window, and was trampled by the 
horses and eaten by dogs, but still Israel did 
not learn to listen to her prophets. 


251 



The Downfall of Israel. 

After the death of Ahab, Ahaziah, his son, 
reigned. He was also an evil king and his 
rule was short. During his reign Moab re¬ 
belled and was lost to Israel. Next, Jero¬ 
boam his brother had the throne. While Is¬ 
rael was at a low ebb of prosperity under 
this weak king, it came to pass that Elijah 
was to be taken up to heaven in a whirlwind. 
The sons of the prophets stood afar off as Eli¬ 
jah and Elisha came to the river Jordan. 
Elijah smote the waters with his mantle and 
the two went over on dry land. Then Elijah 
said, “Ask what I shall do for thee before I be 
taken away from thee/’ Elisha said, “ I pray 
thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be up* 
on me.” Elijah said he had asked a hard 
thing, but if he saw him when he was taken 
away, it should be so. If Elisha could per¬ 
ceive the wisdom and the meaning of what 
was to happen, he would see the way of Eli¬ 
jah’s going and understand more clearly com¬ 
ing events. “And it came to pass, as they 
still went on and talked, that, behold, there 
appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire 
252 


THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


and parted them asunder; and Elijah was 
caught up to heaven.” Elisha saw it and he 
cried, “ My father, my father, the chariot 
of Israel and the horsemen thereof.” 

Then Elisha picked up the mantle that fell 
from Elijah and went back and stood by 
Jordan. 

He smote the waters of the river saying, 
“ Where is the Lord God of Elijah?” The 
waters parted and he went over on dry 
ground. The other prophets saw that the 
spirit of Elijah rested upon Elisha. To this 
day the mantle of Elijah rests, in some meas¬ 
ure, upon all those who understand the spir¬ 
itual teaching of the prophet’s mission and 
manner of disappearing. 

Those who had been watching with dull 
understanding went to search for him, “ lest 
peradventure the spirit of the Lord had cast 
him on some mountain or in some valley,” 
but they found him not. 

Elisha tarried for a time at Jericho. The 
waters were bad and the land barren and Eli¬ 
sha healed the waters and the land became 
fertile. 

As Elisha went on his way there came forth 
little children out of the city and they mocked 
him saying, “ Go up, thou bald head; go up, 

253 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


thou bald head.” He turned back and cursed 
them in the name of the Lord, and there 
came forth two she bears out of the wood 
and tore in pieces forty and two of these chil¬ 
dren. Elisha went on to Samaria, but the 
world is wondering still how he could curse 
little children, even if they were the ill-bred 
offspring of a wicked people. 

The kings of Israel, Judah and Edom went 
to war to regain Moab for Israel. They came 
to a place where there was no water and ap¬ 
pealed to Elisha for aid. He told them to dig 
the valley full of ditches, “ For thus saith 
the Lord, ye shall not see wind, neither shall 
ye see rain; yet the valley shall be filled with 
water that ye may drink, both ye and your cat¬ 
tle and your beasts. And this is but a light 
thing in the sight of your Lord, for He will 
deliver the Moabites into your hands.” And 
it was so. 

A woman came to Elisha and told him her 
husband, who was a prophet and loved the 
Lord, was dead. His creditors were coming 
to take her two sons to be bondmen. Elisha 
asked her what she had in the house and she 
had only a little oil. He told her to borrow of 
her neighbors empty vessels, “ not a few,” 
then to close the doors and she and her sons 


254 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


to pour oil into the vessels. She poured from 
her one pot of oil until all were filled. She 
sold the oil and paid her debts, and had 
enough left to supply all the needs of herself 
and children. This story teaches a wonder¬ 
ful lesson, even that God does supply our 
needs if we look to Him. But we must have 
“ something in the house,” the consciousness 
of God’s power and the willingness to trust 
him. 

It came to pass when Elisha went to 
Shunem, that he came to the house of a very 
rich and great woman of that place. She 
constrained the prophet to eat bread. Then 
she said to her husband, “ I perceive this is 
an holy man of God which passeth by us con¬ 
tinually.” She wanted him to build a room 
for the prophet and his servant that they 
might have a home when they were in their 
country. Elisha was very grateful for her 
unselfish kindness, and her reward was great. 
After a while, her little son fell sick and died. 
She said not a word but shut him in an up¬ 
per chamber and went to Elisha and throwing 
herself at his feet, besought him to save the 
child. 

Elisha returned with her and went alone in¬ 
to the room where the dead child lay. He 
255 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


prayed but could not rouse him. He walked 
to and fro, still praying. Then the little one 
opened its eyes and smiled. The mother re¬ 
ceived her son joyfully. We learn from this 
to be persistent in seeking God’s help, but also 
to be quiet. 

At one time Elisha and the sons of the proph¬ 
ets went to build them a place to dwell near 
the river Jordan. One man let his ax-head 
fall into the water and he cried to Elisha, 
'‘Alas, master, for it was borrowed.” Elisha 
cast a stick into the river at the place where 
the ax-head fell and “the iron did swim.” 

In Syria was a great man named Naaman, 
but he was a leper. Among the captives the 
Syrians had brought in from the children of 
Israel was a little maid who had been given 
to Naaman’s wife. This little maid kept say¬ 
ing to her mistress, “ Would God, my lord 
were with the prophet that is in Samaria, for 
he would heal his leprosy.” When the king 
of Syria heard of it, he sent Naaman with 
presents and many servants and a letter to the 
king of Israel, asking him to heal his favorite 
officer. 

The king of Israel thought the king of Syr¬ 
ia wanted cause for a quarrel, and he said, 
“Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that 
256 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


this man doth send unto me to recover a 
man of his leprosy ? ” He rent his clothes, 
for he was in great trouble. Elisha sent word 
to the king, “ Wherefore hast thou rent thy 
clothes? Send him now to me and he shall 
know that there is a prophet in Israel. ,, 

Naaman came with his horses and with his 
chariots and stood before the house of Elisha. 
The prophet sent a messenger to him saying, 
“ Go and wash in the river Jordan seven 
times and thy flesh shall come again to thee 
and thou shalt be clean.” Naaman was wroth 
and said, “ Behold, I thought, He will surely 
come out to me and stand and call on the name 
of the Lord his God, and strike his hand over 
the place and recover the leper. Are not 
Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, 
better than all the waters of Israel? May I 
not wash in them and be clean?” So he 
went away in a rage. 

So it is with proud, foolish man. He wants 
many benefits from God but wants them to 
come according to his own ideas. He wants 
to argue the matter: “ Is not my way as good 
as another way ? ” 

Naaman was angry because Elisha did not 
come down himself and honor his great vis- 


257 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


itor from Syria instead of sending by a serv¬ 
ant so small a message. 

But Naaman’s servants, not being blinded 
by pride, were wiser just then than he was. 
They said to him, “ My father, if the prophet 
had bid thee do some great thing, wouldst 
thou not have done it? How much rather 
then when he saith to thee, Wash and be 
clean?” 

Then went Naaman down and dipped him¬ 
self seven times in the Jordan, according to 
the directions of the prophet, and his flesh 
came again like unto the flesh of a child, and 
he was clean. 

Elisha had proven his understanding of God 
and the law of Spirit, by many good deeds 
that were miracles (wonders) to them that 
did not understand the law of God, and it 
was well for Naaman to obey the higher un¬ 
derstanding for which Elisha stood. 

Then Naaman returned to the man of God, 
he and all his company, and stood before him 
and said, “ Behold, now I know that there is 
no God in all the earth but in Israel.” Elisha 
answered, “ Go in peace.” 

To the prophets and the holy men of the 
Bible, a miracle was a sign of God’s presence 
and power; but to those who are ignorant of 
258 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


God’s power, a miracle means a wonder. 
When God is understood as everpresent, ever- 
acting Principle, the manifestation of his pres¬ 
ence will no longer be a wonder. Why should 
it be thought a thing incredible that God 
should heal the sick, or raise the dead through 
men who understand the application of truth? 

The king of Syria, fearing the prophet’s 
power to help Israel, sent a great host with 
horses and chariots to compass the city and 
capture the prophet. When the servant saw 
it he was afraid and Elisha said, “ Fear not, 
for they that be with us are more than they 
that be with them.” Then the young man’s 
eyes were opened and behold, the mountain 
was full of horsemen and chariots of fire 
round about Elisha. 

Love is protecting power, unseen by those, 
who, having eyes, see not; unfelt by those 
who are not conscious of the love that casteth 
out fear. 

The Syrians were smitten with blindness, 
and the prophet led them into Samaria to 
the king of Israel. The king would have 
destroyed them but Elisha said, “ No, give 
them food and send them back to their 
homes.” 

After this, there was a great famine in Sa- 

259 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


maria so that the people suffered greatly, 
and again the Syrians besieged the city. The 
king laid the blame on God and Elisha, not 
on the wickedness of himself and his people. 
He said the prophet’s head should fall that 
day. 

Elisha sat with his elders in his house and 
said, “ See ye how this son of a murderer 
hath sent to take away my head ? ” When 
the king came in he declared the evil was from 
the Lord, and why should he wait any longer ? 
Elisha told him that by the same hour on the 
morrow, food should be sold very cheap at the 
gate of Samaria, fine flour and measures of 
barley. A lord upon whose hand the king 
leaned answered the man of God mockingly 
and said, “ Behold, if the Lord would make 
windows in heaven might this thing be ? ” 
Elisha answered, “ Thou shalt see it with 
thine eyes, but shall not eat thereof.” 

In the morning it was told the king that 
the Syrian camp was deserted and messengers 
were sent out to investigate. The Syrians 
had heard a great noise of chariots and horses 
in the night and they had fled in great fear. 
The way was strewn with garments and ves¬ 
sels which they had thrown away as they 
ran and even their horses were left tied in 


260 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


the camp. The Israelites spoiled the tents 
of the Syrians and the king appointed the lord 
upon whose hand he had leaned to have 
charge of the gate. Here the people trod upon 
him and he died. 

A measure of fine flour was sold for a 
shekel and two measures of barley: as the man 
of God had said, but the lord who had sarcas¬ 
tically answered, “ Now behold, if the Lord 
made windows in heaven might this thing 
be ? ” saw it but did not eat thereof. Elisha 
was not responsible for his death, but had seen 
the arrogance that leads to death. 

Now Jehu had been secretly anointed king 
of Israel because the house of Ahab was to 
be destroyed. Ahab’s son Joram was recover¬ 
ing of his wounds in Jezreel and the king of 
Judah was with him. 

The watchman on the tower saw a com¬ 
pany of men coming and the driving was 
like the driving of Jehu the son of Nimshi: 
“ for he driveth furiously.” 

When the king saw Jehu he said, “ Is it 
in peace, Jehu? ” Jehu answered, “What peace 
so long as thy mother Jezebel and her witch¬ 
crafts are allowed to remain?” Jehu declared 
war and the king of Israel and the king of 
Judah were slain. Jezebel was thrown from 
261 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


her own window and destroyed. Then Jehu 
went to Samaria and gathered together all 
the worshippers of Baal and destroyed them, 
but the worship of the golden calf was con¬ 
tinued. 

In those days the “ Lord began to cut Is¬ 
rael short.” Hazael, the king of Syria, ful¬ 
filled the prophecy of Elisha; he made the 
Israelites “ like the dust by threshing.” 

Several kings followed Jehu, but the king 
of Assyria devastated many cities of Israel; 
took Samaria, bound her king, and took Is¬ 
rael captive into Assyria, scattering them in 
many places. 

Israel’s hold upon that which would have 
made her prosperous and great was loosened 
when Jeroboam, fearing the influence of the 
temple at Jerusalem, set up the golden calf at 
Dan and Bethel although they still worshipped 
the name Jehovah. Then Omri’s commercial 
tendencies led him to bring Jezebel the daugh¬ 
ter of Ethbaal, king of Tyre and Sidon, into 
the palace as the wife of his son Ahab. This in¬ 
domitable heathen princess never rested until 
she had obliterated the last vestige of true 
religion. Then Israel’s hope was gone. 

One hundred and thirty years before the 
fall of Judah the Lord removed Israel out of 
262 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


His sight. Samaria was occupied by stran¬ 
gers and lions prowled through the streets 
where Jezebel’s ivory palace stood. 

The dying Jacob prophesied Judah’s end¬ 
less rule; Moses emphasized this and said of 
Benjamin, “ The beloved of the Lord shall 
dwell in safety by him.” 

When the kingdom was divided after the 
death of Solomon, ten tribes seceded, but Ben¬ 
jamin cast lots with Judah. 

Judah has always stood and stands today 
a separate and distinct people; the remnant 
of a glorious race of prophets and priests 
with great honors awaiting her when she 
bends her neck to the will of God; but the 
ten tribes are lost,—so securely hidden that 
they do not know themselves. 

Men may conjecture and theorize, thinking 
they have found traces of these people, but 
it is not the work of man. Isaiah tells us that 
a nation beyond the sea will aid in the restor¬ 
ation of Judah, but according to Ezekiel God 
himself will gather the lost tribes of Israel. 
In the wilderness of people God will meet 
them face to face. He will speak to their 
consciousness and those who recognize the 
voice of God will follow Him. 


263 



The Downfall of Judah. 

While Ahab and his wicked queen Jezebel 
were building their ivory palace; serving idols 
and leading Israel into deeper sin; Jehosha- 
phat, son of the good king Asa, ruled over 
Judah. He followed in the ways of his father 
and his people prospered. He had riches and 
honor bestowed upon him because his heart 
was filled with the love of God. He sent 
good men among the people of Judah to teach 
them the law of the Lord. 

The kingdoms about Judah made no war 
against him, but brought presents instead, for 
they knew the Lord was with him. But the 
king of Judah sinned when he joined affinity 
with Ahab. As he was returning to Jeru¬ 
salem from the disastrous battle where the 
king of Israel was slain, he was met by Jehu, 
the son of a seer, who reproved him for this 
foolish act. The king tried to atone for his 
mistake, and lived a Godly life. He taught 
his people and ruled them well. Then it came 
to pass that three great armies from beyond 
the sea came to fight against Jehoshaphat, 
and he was very much afraid. He called all 

264 


THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


the people together and stood among them 
and prayed, “ O Lord the God of our fathers, 
art Thou not God in heaven ? * * * And 

in Thy hand is there not power and might, so 
that none is able to withstand thee ? ” All 
Judah stood before the Lord with their wives 
and little ones while Jehoshaphat prayed, 
knowing that God would hear and help. 

Then the Spirit of the Lord spoke through 
one of the prophets and said, “ Hearken ye, 
all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, 
and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the 
Lord unto you, Fear not ye, neither be dis¬ 
mayed by reason of this great multitude; for 
the battle is not yours, but God’s.” He told 
them just how they should go to meet the 
enemy on the morrow: but he said, “ Ye shall 
not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, 
stand ye still and see the salvation of the 
Lord, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor 
be dismayed, but tomorrow go out against 
them, for the Lord is with you.” The king 
and all Judah bowed their faces to the ground 
in token of obedience and thanksgiving. 

They rose up early in the morning and the 
king said to all the people, “ Hear me, O Ju¬ 
dah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem; Be¬ 
lieve in the Lord your God, so shall ye be 
265 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


established; believe His prophets, so shall 
ye prosper.” 

The king appointed singers to go before 
the army and sing praises to the beauty of 
holiness and to the Lord, “ For his mercy 
endureth forever.” 

As the singers began to sing, two of the 
great armies that had come to fight Judah, 
began to fight the third army that had come 
with them, “ utterly to slay and destroy them.” 
They fought against each other until all were 
destroyed. 

So when Judah came in sight of the battle¬ 
field, there were only dead bodies fallen to 
the earth, none had escaped. When Ju¬ 
dah came to take away the spoil, they found 
riches in abundance and precious jewels. It 
took them three days to carry it away. 

This story teaches us a great lesson. It 
shows that right living day by day fits us for 
God’s help and prepares us to hear the voice 
of Love. It shows that we must face 
our enemies fearlessly and meet them in the 
right way; also that it is wise to go joy¬ 
ously—for Judah’s king was so trustful that 
he sang praises even before he had come in 
sight of the fallen foe. How well he was re¬ 
warded ! 


266 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


In Jerusalem there was great rejoicing, but 
the fear of Judah’s God fell upon all nations 
round about, because the Lord had fought 
her battles for her. 

But again Jehoshaphat acted foolishly. He 
entered into partnership with the king of Is¬ 
rael to build ships for commerce with Tar- 
shish. A prophet reproved him and told 
him his work would be of no avail. It was 
true, for the ships were broken and never 
reached Tarshish. 

The king died and was buried in the city 
of David. 

Jehoram, his son and successor, married 
Athaliah, the infamous daughter of Ahab and 
Jezebel. To please her he slew many princes 
and walked in the ways of Ahab. During his 
reign of eight years many of the surround¬ 
ing people who had been subject to his father 
revolted. Moreover, he built high places in 
the mountains of Judah, compelling the in¬ 
habitants of Jerusalem and Judah to worship 
idols. 

He was smitten by a terrible disease and 
his people with the plague. 

The Philistines, Arabians and Ethiopians 
came up into Judah and carried away all that 
was valuable. They captured many of the 
267 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


monarch’s people and all his sons except the 
youngest. His young son Ahaziah was made 
king upon the death of Jehoram. Ahaziah 
followed the ways of his father and was 
counseled by his wicked mother, Judah’s 
abhorred queen. In one year he died. 

His mother, Athaliah, destroyed, as she 
supposed, all the seed royal of the house of 
Judah; but one, Joash, the son of the dead 
king, was saved. The late king’s sister, who 
was the wife of a priest, stole him and hid him 
in the temple for six years while Athaliah 
ruled over the land, 

When Joash was seven years old, he was 
brought out and anointed and crowned and 
all the loyal people shouted, “ God save the 
king! ” 

Athaliah heard the noise of rejoicing and 
saw the people running, but when she saw 
her grandson she cried, “ Treason, Treason.” 

She was slain at the gate of the palace, 
and the little king began his reign, following 
the advice of the good priest who educated 
him. 

He repaired the temple that had been de¬ 
spoiled, the people giving to this cause joy¬ 
fully as in the days of Moses. There was also 
enough given to replace the gold and silver 
268 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


dishes that had been stolen from the sanctuary. 

Jehoiada, the good priest, died at the age 
of one hundred and thirty years and was 
buried with the kings in the city of David 
because he had saved for the throne a son 
of David. 

After the death of the old priest, the king lis¬ 
tened to the advice of the princes, and again 
Judah served idols. Forgetting the kindness 
that had been shown him, he ordered the son 
of Jehoiada stoned because the young priest 
remonstrated with him. Then evil reigned. 

The Syrians came against him and de¬ 
stroyed the princes of Judah. They carried 
the spoil of the king of Damascus, but they 
left Joash sick in the palace and his own serv¬ 
ants slew him. He was buried in the city 
of David, but not in the sepulcher of the kings. 
Then his own son Amaziah reigned. 

This king conquered the Edomites and 
brought back their gods with him to set up in 
Jerusalem. A prophet asked him why he 
worshipped worthless gods that could not 
save their own people, but he would not listen. 

Amaziah had offended the army of the Is¬ 
raelites and wishing to make amends, he sent 
to the king of Israel, saying, “ Come, let us 
see one another face to face.” The king of 
269 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


Israel returned answer, saying, “ The thistle 
that was in Lebanon sent to the cedar that 
was in Lebanon, saying, Give thy daughter 
to my son to wife; and there passed by 
a wild beast that was in Lebanon and 
trod down the thistle that was in Leb¬ 
anon. Thou hast indeed smitten Edom, and 
thine heart hath lifted thee up: glory of 
this and tarry at home; for why shouldst thou 
meddle to thy hurt, that thou shouldst fall, 
even thou and Judah with thee?” 

But the king of Judah would not listen. 
In spite of this ungracious message, he in¬ 
sisted. The king of Israel met him in one of 
the cities of Judah and each looked the other 
in the face. Then all Judah fled to their 
tents. The king of Israel took Judah’s king 
back to Jerusalem, and broke down the walls 
of the city and pillaged the temple, and the 
king’s house, then returned to Samaria. 

Uzziah, the next king, was sometimes 
called Azariah. Many of the kings and priests 
and prophets were known by different names 
in different places. He did that which was 
right in the sight of the Lord with the coun¬ 
sel of Zechariah, a wise prophet of his day; 
and as long as he sought the Lord, God made 
him to prosper. 


270 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


The surrounding countries gave gifts to 
this king and his name spread abroad even 
to the entering in of Egypt. He built towers 
in Jerusalem at the gates, and at the turning 
of the wall and fortified them; he built towers 
in the desert and digged wells for his men 
and cattle. He had many husbandmen and 
vine dressers in the mountains and in Carmel, 
for he loved husbandry. 

He also had a great army, three thousand 
six hundred officers, and more than three 
hundred thousand men. These men were 
well equipped with shields, spears, helmets, 
habergeons, (coats of mail), bows, and slings 
to cast stones. 

He put upon the towers and bulwarks, 
engines invented by cunning men to shoot 
arrows and great stones. His name spread 
abroad for he was marvelously helped until 
he was very powerful, then, like many before 
him and since, his pride and love of self be¬ 
came greater than his love of God. His am¬ 
bition led him into error. He went into the 
temple and burned incense at the altar,—a duty 
belonging to none but the priesthood. 

The priests gathered about him and re¬ 
proved him. They ordered him out of the 
temple, because he was not consecrated to 
271 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 

bum incense. The king was very angry be¬ 
cause of the interference of the priests; and 
while his anger was high and while the censer 
was still in his hand, he was smitten with 
leprosy even to his forehead, and all the priests 
saw it; then he was glad to hasten from the 
temple. 

So temper and pride worked their evil 
charm, and the king became a leper and dwelt 
in a lazar house all the rest of his life; and 
his son, Jotham, lived in the king's house and 
judged the people. 

Ahaz, Jotham’s son and successor, was a 
weak and idolatrous king. He introduced the 
Syrian gods into Jerusalem and altered the 
temple after the Syrian model. Finally this 
foolish king, Ahaz, closed the doors of the 
house of God and despoiled it to send pres¬ 
ents to the king of Assyria with a message, 
saying, “ I am thy servant and thy son.” He 
gave orders to have an altar made like 
one he saw in Assyria. He tore down the 
ancient things in the temple; and erected 
altars in every comer of Jerusalem, to please 
the king of Assyria. 

So Judah was brought very low, but Isa¬ 
iah the prophet comforted the king and spake 


272 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


to him the wonderful prophecy of the coming 
of Immanuel. 

Ahaz was a moral leper, and, like his 
grandfather, was refused a burial in the sepul¬ 
cher of the kings. 

Hezekiah, his successor, was a true son 
of David. He did that which was pleasing in 
the sight of the Lord, as his father David had 
done. He began to reign at the age of twen¬ 
ty-five over a stricken kingdom, for Judah 
was subject to Assyria, paying tribute to her 
king and serving the Assyrian gods. 

Hezekiah removed the high places, broke 
the images, and cut down the groves of hea¬ 
then worship. He even broke to pieces the 
brazen serpent that Moses had made as a 
symbol for the materialistic people of his 
time, and before which Judah still burned in¬ 
cense. He trusted in the God of Israel and 
kept the commandments given through Moses. 
The Lord was with him and he prospered 
wheresoever he went. 

In the first month of the first year of his 
reign, he opened the doors of the house of 
the Lord; he had the temple cleaned and re¬ 
paired, and gathered the priests, the sons of 
Levi, together, and put them in charge of 
the services. 


273 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


He sent through all the kingdom of Israel 
and invited them to come to the Passover, 
a long neglected feast, at Jerusalem. But 
he was laughed at and scorned,—only a few 
of the Israelites humbled themselves and 
came to Jerusalem. There was great joy 
in the city for no feast like this had been 
known since the days of Solomon, during 
whose reign heathen worship had been es¬ 
tablished side by side with the worship of the 
true God. 

Hezekiah paid tribute but once to the As¬ 
syrian king and then revolted and served the 
Assyrian king no more. The Lord was with 
him and he smote the Philistines and drove 
them out of his borders. 

In the sixth year of Hezekiah’s reign, the 
king of Assyria conquered Israel and carried 
the people away captive. Then the king of 
Assyria sent to Hezekiah a letter reminding him 
that all the nations were subject to him and 
that Judah must be also. Hezekiah sent to 
Isaiah for advice. He took the letter into 
the temple and spread it out and prayed, 
“ O Lord God of Israel * * * bow down 

thine ear and hear; open, Lord, thine eyes 
and see and hear the words of Sennacherib. 
* * * Of a truth, Lord, the kings of As- 

274 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


Syria have destroyed the nations and have cast 
their gods into the fire; for they were no 
gods, but the work of men’s hands, wood and 
stone: Now therefore, O Lord our God, I 
beseech thee, save us, that all the kingdoms 
of ^arth may know that thou art the Lord 
God, even thou only.’’ 

Then Isaiah sent word to the king that God 
had heard his prayer, and that this was God’s 
message to the king of Assyria, “ The virgin, 
the daughter of Zion, (Judah’s pure love for 
the only true God), hath despised thee and 
laughed thee to scorn; the daughter of Jeru¬ 
salem hath shaken her head at thee. * * * 
Because thy rage against me and thy tumult 
hath come up into mine ears, therefore will I 
put my hook into thy nose, and my bridle 
into thy lips, and I will turn thee back by the 
way by which thou earnest.” 

This was to be a sign to Judah. The proph¬ 
ecy was, “ And the remnant that is escaped 
out of the house of Judah shall yet again 
take root downward and bear fruit upward. 
For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a rem¬ 
nant, and they that escape out of Mount 
Zion: The zeal of the Lord of hosts shall do 
this.” 

The king was promised that the Assyrians 

275 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


should not come into Jerusalem or shoot an 
arrow there. And it came to pass that the 
angel of the Lord smote the camp of the As¬ 
syrians and, when Judah arose early in the 
morning, the great army of the Assyrians 
were all dead men. The king of Assyria 
was slain by two of his own sons. 

Before clocks were invented they told the 
time of day by the shadow on the sundials. 
Judah’s kings from the time of Ahab pos¬ 
sessed a very fine instrument of this kind, 
called the dial of Ahab. Hezekiah was taken 
very ill and it was thought that he must die, 
but he prayed to the Lord for healing and 
Isaiah promised him that he would recover. 
The king asked as a sign that the shadow 
move ten degrees backward on this dial. 
Isaiah called to the Lord and the shadow 
went ten degrees backward on the dial. 

The king of Babylon, hearing of this won¬ 
derful healing, sent letters and presents to 
the king of Judah. Hezekiah was flattered. 
He showed the messengers all the treasures 
of his kingdom and all the precious things 
in his domain. Isaiah reproved him for his 
vanity and told him the day would come when 
all that was in his home should be carried 
into Babylon. There would be nothing left, 
276 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


and his sons would be servants in the palace 
of the king of Babylon. Again pride, setting 
up its altar in man’s heart, wrought its own 
destruction, yet peace prevailed while Heze- 
kiah reigned. 

Hezekiah slept with his fathers, and he 
was buried in the chiefest of the kings’ sep¬ 
ulchers: all Judah and the inhabitants of Je¬ 
rusalem did him honor at his death. Manas- 
seh, his son, reigned in his stead. 

Manasseh reestablished idol worship, and 
did only harm. He died and was buried in the 
garden of his own house. Amon, his son, 
did evil entirely and in two years was buried 
with his father. 

The people set the young prince, Josiah, 
on the throne when he was eight years old. 

Josiah was the young king who found the 
book of the law so long hidden away. He 
destroyed all the idolatrous works of his 
father and grandfather, altars to the sun, 
moon and stars, to Baal and to Moloch. See¬ 
ing the sepulchers of the men who had served 
at these altars, he had them opened and their 
bones burned and scattered the ashes upon 
the broken altars, as the man of God had 
prophesied so many years before. 

Still, Judah had wandered too far from the 
277 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


love of God and would not be reclaimed. 
The Lord said, “ I will remove Judah also 
out of my sight, as I have removed Israel, 
and will cast off this city Jerusalem, which I 
have chosen, and the house of which I said, 
My name shall be there/’ 

After a reign of twenty-one years Josiah 
died. All Judah mourned the young king and 
Jeremiah, the prophet, lamented him. Josiah’s 
son, Jehoahaz, reigned three months and his 
brother Jehoiakim eleven years, and the land 
paid tribute to Egypt. Then the king of Bab¬ 
ylon overcame Pharaoh, and Judah was sub¬ 
ject to Babylon. 

God, in his compassion, sent them prophets 
and seers. Had they listened and obeyed all 
would yet have been well, but they only 
laughed at them, mocked and misused these 
messengers of God, “ until there was no rem¬ 
edy.” Finally the temple and all Jerusalem 
was despoiled. The people and the treasures 
that were still left were carried away to Bab¬ 
ylon. Judah was overthrown,—her desola¬ 
tion was complete. 

Still, Judah will rise again. Not over the 
ashes of her kingly greatness, but in the spir¬ 
itual realm of her God-given inheritance. 
God’s purpose cannot be thwarted. In the 

278 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


dim and far-off past, God had selected one 
man and commanded him, “ Walk before me 
and be thou perfect.” Abraham’s obedient 
faith lives yet. Through all the dark days 
and devious wanderings of his descendants, 
God has nourished this trait as a tender plant. 

Among the sons of Jacob he chose Judah; 
from the tribe of Judah he selected the house 
of Jesse; and among the sons of Jesse he 
anointed David to be a great king, a prince 
whose house should rule forever; and it must 
be so. 

The understanding of this wonderful prom¬ 
ise shone faintly and fitfully among Judah’s 
seers and kings even in the days of her de¬ 
cadence and captivity. This great hope 
throbbed in the hearts of her wise men until 
it blazed into grand Messianic prophecies 
of a Savior and a prince who,—at first re¬ 
jected and reviled—would eventually rule all 
nations with an inexorable rod, the all-per¬ 
vading, all-compelling law of peace and love. 


279 



The Temple Rebuilt. 


Now in the first year of Cyrus, king of Per¬ 
sia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth 
of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord 
stirred up the spirit of Cyrus, king of Persia, 
that he made a proclamation throughout all 
his kingdom and put it in writing, saying, 
“ Thus saith Cyrus, king of Persia, The Lord 
God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms 
of the earth; and he hath charged me to build 
him an house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. 
Who is there among you of all his people? 
His God be with him and let him go up to 
Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the 
house of the Lord God of Israel, (He is the 
God), which is in Jerusalem.” 

This stirring up of Cyrus to build the tem¬ 
ple was prophesied by Isaiah before the down¬ 
fall of Israel; and again by Jeremiah about 
fifty years before the reign of King Cyrus. 
The Jews in Babylon were exiles rather than 
slaves. Judah’s last king, Jehoiachin, of Da¬ 
vid’s royal line, was released from prison, 
but the princes and great men among the 
captive Jews had served as servants in the 
280 


THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


beautiful palaces of Babylon for seventy years. 
Many of the Jews had learned the language of 
Persia, entered into trade, and forgotten Je¬ 
rusalem. 

The prophets had foretold the downfall 
of Israel and Judah while these nations were 
prosperous and careless, and their word had 
come true; they had also foretold of the res¬ 
toration of a remnant, and some of the wise 
ones among the Jews believed it and longed 
for the coming of the perfect prince. 

This desire was now the life and hope of 
Judah. Prayer had taken the place of blood 
sacrifice in their captivity and it led to a more 
exalted life. The Persian destruction of the 
idols of Babylon had weaned them from idol 
worship, but they still believed in evil as an 
active entity opposed to God, although the 
ages had called out to them, “ Hear, O Israel: 
the Lord our God is one Lord.” “ There is 
none beside Me.” 

Ezekiel was among them, strong in faith 
and courage, while the hope of all was cen¬ 
tered in King Cyrus. 

He came,—the most just and gentle of all 
warrior kings—and his proclamation found 
the faithful Jews ready. In 537 B. C. they 
went to Jerusalem under the leadership of 
281 




THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


Zerubbabel, a son of the house of David, 
and Jeshua, a grandson of the last high priest. 

They were given silver and gold, cattle, the 
wealth of the woods, all that was required for 
the building or for their needs. The gold and 
silver and many of the beautiful things Solo¬ 
mon had made, which were in the king’s treas¬ 
ury, were to be replaced in the new temple. 

This little company of 42,360 people re¬ 
turned to the desolate city to establish, under 
Persian rule, a new community. There were 
many hardships and delays; the people of the 
neighboring settlements gave them much trou¬ 
ble, King Cyrus died and a hostile king took 
his place and all work stopped until after his 
death. Darius, who succeeded to the throne, 
permitted the work to go on and the prophets 
Haggai and Zachariah encouraged the Jews 
to look forward to success through a higher 
and better life. 

In twenty-one years Zerubbabel’s temple 
was finished. It was as large again as Solo¬ 
mon’s temple, but the old men wept and 
mourned for the departed glory. The ark of 
the covenant and the Mercy seat were gone, 
the urim and the thummim also; there was no 
visible glory, no holy fire upon the altar, no 
spirit of prophecy. 


282 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


More than half a century passed: king suc¬ 
ceeded king in Persia, and in Jerusalem the 
people grew lax. At first Zerubbabel and 
Jeshua ruled together, the one at the head of 
city affairs, the other in the affairs of the 
temple; then Zerubbabel, the prince of Judah, 
disappeared from the history of the city and 
the high priest’s office gained importance, the 
only survival of Judah’s ancient glory. 

Now, Ezra the scribe, was a man of great 
learning and high in favor at the court of 
Persia. He was a descendant of Aaron and 
a “ ready writer ” in the law of Moses. He 
was sent to Jerusalem by the reigning king 
of Persia to teach the Jews and look after the 
worship of the temple. He was given gold 
and silver for the service, and the priests of 
Levi, singers and door-keepers who wished to 
return to Jerusalem, returned with him. 

The king made a decree that it would not 
be lawful for the governors beyond the river 
to impose toll, tribute, or custom on these 
people, in 457 B. C. 

When Ezra came to Jerusalem, he was 
astonished and grieved to find that many of 
the priests had again intermarried with the 
heathen people about them. He reminded 
them of the days when their forefathers came 
283 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


into the land of promise. How the Lord had 
warned them of the filthiness of the people 
around them, and had forbidden them to have 
any dealings with them. Their fathers had 
disobeyed the Lord and great calamity had 
befallen them; now the Lord had put it into 
the heart of the king of Persia to rebuild the 
temple and establish again his people and this 
was the way they requited Him. He prayed, 
“ O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift 
up my face to thee, my God * * * and 

after all that is come upon us for our evil 
deeds, and for our great trespass, seeing that 
thou our God hath punished us less than our 
iniquities deserve, and hast given us such de¬ 
liverance as this; should we again break thy 
commandments and join in affinity with the 
people of these abominations? would not 
thou be angry with us till thou hadst con¬ 
sumed us, so that there should be no remnant 
nor escaping ? ” 

The people wept and confessed their sin 
and promised to put the heathen out of the 
city. All the men of Judah and Benjamin 
gathered about Ezra to help in purifying the 
city. Those who would not separate from 
their heathen wives and reject her children 
had to leave the ;city with her. This was an 
284 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


effectual barrier between Judah and all other 
peoples. Laws were formed for daily conduct, 
and schools for the study of the law. The 
priest became the teacher and morals were 
improved, but spiritual experience and proph- 
etism still languished. Houses of prayer were 
established in the towns about Jerusalem and 
the Psalms became better known and a more 
important factor in their worship. The hope 
of an earthly king of the house of David died 
out, but in its place grew the expectation of 
a divine Savior, and a broader understanding 
of the good in all sincere worship. 

Still, the visible manifestations of Jerusa¬ 
lem were desolate and discouraging. There 
were petty jealousies among the priests, the 
poor were oppressed, the walls of the city 
were in ruins and the gates burned down. 

Nehemiah, the beloved cup-bearer of the 
king of Persia, was grieved because of the 
desolation of his people and gained permission 
of the king to go to Jerusalem and rebuild 
the walls about the city where his forefathers 
were buried. The Jews worked with a will 
at this much needed improvement, but it was 
under great difficulties, often with one hand 
while holding a weapon with the other, be¬ 
cause of the hatred of the surrounding people. 

285 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


In a year, 440 B. C., it was finished. Ne- 
hemiah was ruler of Judea under the king. 
He loved his people and the city of God; 
and Ezra was a great help in this work. Many 
of the Jews had been exacting usury of their 
less fortunate brothers; Nehemiah rebuked 
them and made them return the vineyards 
and the lands which they had taken. They 
had even bought children as servants but 
they gave them up at Nehemiah’s request. 
He shook the lap of his robe saying that God 
would so shake every man out of his house 
who failed to keep his promise. 

When the walls of the city were finished 
and watchmen and gatekeepers appointed, the 
people gathered themselves together as one 
man at the water gate and Ezra read to them 
from the Book of the Law. There was a great 
thanksgiving,—no one was to fast or mourn, 
but should send portions to those who had 
nothing prepared and all were to feast and 
be glad, for the joy of the Lord was their 
strength. During this feast of the seventh 
month they read aloud at the water gate the 
Book of the Law, and the second day they 
read where it was ordered that Israel was to 
live in booths at this feast. So every man 
went up the mountain and brought branches 
286 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


of the olive, pine, myrtle, palm, and all thick 
trees. They built booths upon the roofs of 
their houses, in the courts and in the streets. 
All the people lived in booths during the rest 
of the feast. This custom had not been ob¬ 
served since Joshua, the son of Nun, and now 
there was great rejoicing. 

Nehemiah returned to his post in Persia, 
but after a few years he was sent again to 
look after the affairs of the colony at Jeru¬ 
salem. Here, again, the temple was neglected, 
the Sabbath profaned, and intermarriages 
with the heathen common. 

Manasseh, a grandson of the high priest, 
had married the daughter of Sanballat, a bit¬ 
ter enemy of the faithful Jews, and Tobiah, 
an Amorite prince, was established unlaw¬ 
fully in fine apartments in the temple. 

Nehemiah turned Tobiah out of the tem¬ 
ple with his household goods and sent Ma¬ 
nasseh out of the city. It is said that Manas¬ 
seh, with the aid of his father-in-law, built 
a temple upon Mount Gerizim and established 
the Samaritan worship of Jehovah, as high 
priest in this rival temple. Many of the Jews 
who would not give up their heathen wives, 
went with Manasseh. The book of Nehemiah 
ends the Old Testament history of Judah as 
287 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


a nation; but as time went on, great changes 
were taking place in the world about Judea. 
Jerusalem suffered many hard blows. The 
temple was pillaged, the high priests were 
slain, and a strong determination to uproot 
the true religion was manifest. Many of the 
Jews themselves deserted their cause, and in 
168 B. C. the temple was rededicated to the 
Olympian games and the Greek god Zeus, 
swines’ flesh was offered upon the great altar 
of burnt offerings. Afterward the temple 
was purified and rededicated to the worship 
of Jehovah. 

In 37 B. C. Herod, in gaining possession of 
Jerusalem, destroyed the Sanhedrin, a council 
of seventy Jews with the high priest as their 
president, who executed the law for the Jews 
in Jerusalem. To make amends for this and 
to regain favor with the Jews, he pulled the 
temple of Zerubbabel down, in 17 B. C., and 
built a new one on the site. It was built of 
white marble of exquisite workmanship and 
was the envy of the world. It was completely 
demolished by the Romans A. D. 70, not one 
stone left upon another,—and the site is now 
occupied by Turkish mosques. 

“ Behold, to obey is better than to sacrifice, 
and to hearken than the fat of rams.” Had 


288 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


Judah honored and obeyed the prophets— 
lifted them up—she would have drawn all 
men to her; she would have inherited the 
earth in God’s gentle, loving way; but she 
would not. 

Nothing can stay God’s will, and Judah, 
with the Book of the Law, the prophecies, 
and God-given messages in her hand was 
scattered among all nations. “And the rem¬ 
nant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many 
people as a dew from the Lord, as the showers 
upon the grass, that tarrieth not for man, nor 
waiteth for the sons of men. And the rem¬ 
nant of Jacob shall be among the Gentiles in 
the midst of many people as the lion among 
the beasts of the forest, as a young lion 
among the flocks of sheep, who, if he go 
through, both treadeth down and teareth in 
pieces, and none can deliver.” (Truth will 
destroy error.) 

Judah’s mission still goes on, for Judah’s 
God is an everlasting God; the prophets are 
His sons, still calling the world to repentance 
and reformation. 

Judah’s prince is the Prince of Peace, His 
reign is the reign of harmony, His kingdom 
is within you, within the consciousness of 
man. 


289 



Queen Esther. 


Now it came to pass, in the days of 
Ahasuerus, whose cup-bearer was Nehemiah, 
the Jew, and who reigned from India even 
unto Ethiopia over an hundred and twenty- 
seven provinces, that, in the third year of his 
reign, he made a feast unto all the princes and 
nobles of all his provinces. 

He displayed the riches of his glorious 
kingdom, and the honor of his excellent 
majesty many days, even an hundred and four 
score; then all the people that were present in 
the palace were invited, both great and small, 
for seven days more, to the court of the gar¬ 
den of the king’s palace; where were white, 
green and blue hangings, fastened with cords 
of fine linen and purple to silver rings on 
pillars of marble; the couches were of gold 
and silver upon a pavement of red, blue and 
white and black marble. They were given 
wine to drink in vessels of gold, no two alike, 
royal wine in abundance. 

Vashti the queen also made a feast for the 
women in the royal house of the king. 

On the seventh day, “ when the heart of the 
290 


THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


king was merry with wine,” the king sent his 
seven chamberlains, to bring Vashti the queen, 
in her crown royal, before the king, to shew 
the princes and the people her beauty. The 
beautiful queen refused to go with these seven 
men, whose hearts, no doubt, were also merry 
with wine, nor would she stand before the 
princes and the people who had been drinking 
at their pleasure for seven days. 

The king was very wroth, but not as angry 
as the leading nobles and princes who were 
with him. One of these lamented that the 
queen had not only disobeyed the king, but 
she had insulted the nobles and the people of 
all the provinces; if she should go unpunished, 
the ladies of Persia and Media, and all the 
women of the provinces would hear of it and 
despise their husbands’ wishes. They would 
say, The king commanded Vashti the queen, 
but she came not, and thus there shall arise 
too much contempt. Thus these men, with 
the best in their character dulled by wine and 
pride, advised the king that Vashti should 
come no more into his presence, but that her 
royal estate be given to another; that the king 
should make a decree and have it published 
through all his empire, that all the wives 
should give to their husbands honor, and 
291 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


every man should bear rule in his own house. 
So this became one of the laws of the Medes 
and Persians, which were supposed to alter 
not. 

Vashti, the beautiful queen, whose modesty 
would have appealed to sober men, and should 
have established her throne in the love of her 
husband and the hearts of her subjects, was 
set aside. 

After the king’s wrath had abated and he 
was in his right mind, he remembered what 
Vashti had done and the unalterable decree 
against her. 

The princes and officers asked the king’s 
permission to bring the beautiful maidens of 
his kingdom into the palace, that he might 
choose from among them a queen in Vashti’s 
place. 

Now in the palace there was a certain Jew, 
Mordecai, the son of a Benjamite, and whose 
grandfather had been brought a captive to 
Babylon. Mordecai had brought up as his 
own daughter, Esther, his uncle’s child, for 
she had neither father nor mother. Esther 
was brought to the palace with the other 
maidens, for she was very beautiful, and she 
was chosen by the king. He loved her for 
her beauty and gentleness and the modesty 

292 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


of her requests. All the other maidens that 
were brought to the palace were given what¬ 
ever apparel they desired, but Esther asked 
nothing but accepted that which the king’s 
chamberlain appointed to her. 

So Esther was made queen in Vashti’s 
place, but her nationality was unknown. Mor- 
decai had charged her not to speak of it. 

The king made a great feast for his new 
queen. It was called Esther’s feast, and he 
made gifts to the provinces for her sake. 

In those days Mordecai sat in the king’s 
gate, and he heard two of the king’s chamber¬ 
lains plotting against the king. He told 
Esther, and she “ certified the king thereof in 
Mordecai’s name.” An inquisition was made 
and it was found to be true, and the men were 
hanged. 

After this the king promoted Haman the 
son of Hammedatha and set his seat above all 
the princes that were with him. All the king’s 
servants that were in the king’s gate bowed, 
and reverenced Haman, for the king had so 
commanded. But Mordecai bowed not, nor 
did him reverence. 

Haman’s attention was called to the mat¬ 
ter and he was told that Mordecai was a Jew. 

Haman was deeply offended but he 

293 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


“ thought scorn to lay hands upon Mordecai 
alone,” because he was a Jew. He decided, 
however, to have all the Jews throughout the 
kingdom destroyed. Consequently he said to 
the king, “ There is a certain people scattered 
abroad among the people of the provinces 
whose laws are diverse from our laws, neither 
keep they the king’s laws; therefore it is not 
for the king’s profit to suffer them. If it 
please the king let it be written that they may 
be destroyed and I will pay ten thousand 
talents to the hands of those who have charge 
of the business, to bring it into the king’s 
treasuries.” The king took off his ring and, 
as sign of approval, gave it to Haman, the bit¬ 
ter enemy of the Jews, saying, as he did so, 
“ The silver is given to thee and the people 
also, to do with them as seemeth good to 
thee.” 

Then the scribes were called to draw up the 
inhuman commands of Haman, which were 
written in the name of the king and sealed 
with the king’s ring. These letters were im¬ 
mediately sent by special messengers into all 
the provinces ordering the authorities “ to 
destroy, to kill, and to cause to perish, all 
Jews, both young and old, little children and 
women, in one day, even upon the thirteenth 
294 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


day of the twelfth month, the month Adar, 
and to take the spoil of them for a prey.” 

After this had been done the king and Ha- 
man sat down to drink, but when the news 
went abroad the city was thrown into great 
confusion. All the Jews clothed themselves 
in sackcloth and lay down in ashes, fasting, 
weeping and wailing. Then Mordecai came 
even to the king’s gate and cried with a loud 
and bitter cry; but none dared enter that gate 
clad in sackcloth. 

Queen Esther heard of it and called for 
Hatach, one of the king’s chamberlains who 
had been appointed to wait upon her, and 
sent him to Mordecai to ascertain why all 
this trouble had come upon the Jews. 

Mordecai gave Hatach a copy of the king’s 
order, and asked Esther to intercede for her 
people. He intimated that, in all probability, 
God had caused her to be chosen queen for 
this very purpose and that if she did not make 
an appeal for the afflicted Jews she would, 
herself, as one of them be destroyed. He 
pointed out the fact that the palace could not 
save her, for deliverance must come from 
some other source as God had promised that 
the remnant of Israel should not be utterly 
destroyed. 


295 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


Esther returned word to Mordecai stating 
that it would be impossible for her to go at 
once to the king, for, according to law, any 
who presented themselves unbidden in the 
king’s inner chamber would immediately be 
put to death, unless the king held out to them 
his golden sceptre, which he was not likely 
to do if disturbed in the midst of his revels. 
She advised Mordecai and all the Jews to 
fast and pray, eating nothing and drinking 
nothing for three days. She also promised 
that she and her maidens would likewise fast 
and “ then will I go in unto the king, which is 
not according to the law: and if I perish, I 
perish.” 

Mordecai went his way and did all that 
Esther had commanded. 

Now it came to pass on the third day that 
Queen Esther put on her royal apparel and 
stood in the inner court of the king’s house 
before the king who sat upon his royal throne. 
When the king saw Queen Esther standing 
in the court she found favor in his sight and 
he held out to her the golden sceptre. Esther 
drawing near touched the top of the sceptre. 

Then said the king unto her, “ What wilt 
thou, Queen Esther? and what is thy request? 

296 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


It shall be given thee, to the half of the king¬ 
dom” 

The queen answered, “If it seem good unto 
the king, let the king and Haman come this 
day unto the banquet that I have prepared 
for him.” 

Haman was greatly elated because of the 
queen’s notice. He called all his friends to¬ 
gether and told them of his riches and honor; 
taking care to inform them that no one was 
invited to the queen’s banquet with the king, 
except himself. “ Yet,” said he, “ all this 
availeth me nothing so long as I see Mordecai, 
the Jew, sitting at the king’s gate.” 

Then his wife and all his friends advised 
him, saying, “ Let a gallows be made of fifty 
cubits high, and tomorrow speak thou unto 
the king that Mordecai be hanged thereon: 
then go thou in merrily with the king unto 
the banquet.” This idea pleased Haman. 

That night the king could not sleep, and he 
had the book of the records of the chronicles 
brought to him and read, and in it was found 
written how Mordecai had discovered and re¬ 
ported that two of the king’s chamberlains 
were plotting against their king. The king 
asked, “ What honor and dignity hath been 
297 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


done to Mordecai for this ? ” They answered, 
“ There is nothing done for him.” 

Haman had come into the outer court to 
speak to the king, that Mordecai might be 
hanged upon the gallows he had made. He 
was called in and the king said to him, “ What 
shall be done unto the man whom the king 
delighteth to honor ? ” Now Haman thought 
in his heart, “To whom would the king de¬ 
light to do honor more than to myself ? ” 
Then Haman answered, “ For the man whom 
the king delighteth to honor, let the royal 
apparel be brought * * * and the horse 

the king rideth upon, and the crown royal 
which is set upon his head, and let this apparel 
and horse be delivered into the hand of one 
of the king’s most royal princes, that they 
may array the man withal whom the king de¬ 
lighteth to honor; and bring him on horseback 
through the streets of the city and proclaim 
before him, Thus shall it be done to the man 
whom the king delighteth to honor.” 

Then the king said to Haman, “ Make 
haste and take the apparel and the horse, as 
thou hast said, and do even so to Mordecai 
the Jew that sitteth at the king’s gate; let 
nothing fail of all that thou hast spoken.” 
Haman was obliged to do this and he went 

298 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


with the despised Jew, proclaiming before 
him, “ Thus shall it be done unto the man 
whom the king delighteth to honor.” 

Mordecai went again unto his seat at the 
king’s gate; but Haman hastened to his house 
mourning, with his head covered. His wife 
and friends saw that his pride and haughty 
spirit had doomed him to fall before Mordecai 
and the Jews. While they were yet talking 
the king’s chamberlain came to bring him unto 
the banquet that Queen Esther had prepared. 

So the king and Haman came the second 
day to the banquet of wine with Esther, the 
queen. 

Then the king said again to Esther, “ What 
is thy petition, Queen Esther ? And it shall be 
granted thee: and what is thy request? And 
it shall be performed even to the half of the 
kingdom.” 

Esther answered: “ If I have found favor 
in thy sight, O king, and if it please the king, 
let my life be given me at my petition, and my 
people at my request: For we are sold, I and 
my people, to be destroyed, to be slain, and 
to perish. But if we had been sold for bond- 
men and bondwomen, I had held my tongue 
although the enemy could not countervail the 
king’s damage.” 

299 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


Then King Ahasuerus questioned Esther: 
“ Who is he and where is he that durst pre¬ 
sume in his heart to do so ? ” 

The dread silence which followed the king’s 
question was broken by the voice of Esther 
who, pointing to the court favorite, said, “ The 
adversary and enemy is this wicked Haman.” 
Then Haman showed that he was a craven 
and showed his great fear before the king and 
queen. The king, in his wrath, arose and 
went into the palace garden. Then Haman 
begged his life of Esther, the queen, for he 
saw that the king had determined evil against 
him. When the king, who had left in a rage, 
returned, he found that Haman had thrown 
himself down before the queen and was beg¬ 
ging for his life. This made the king yet 
more angry, so, when one of his chamberlains 
told him of the gallows, fifty cubits high, 
which Haman had built for Mordecai, the 
king exclaimed, in his indignation, “ Hang 
Haman thereon! ” 

Thus the wicked plotter was hanged upon 
the very gallows he had built upon his own 
grounds for Mordecai, the man whom he so 
bitterly hated. 

On the same day the king gave Esther the 
house of Haman and all its possessions. 

300 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


Mordecai was called before the king, for 
Esther had made known his relationship to 
herself, and the king took off the ring, which 
he had recovered from Haman, and gave it 
to Mordecai whom Esther at once set over 
the house of Haman. 

Then Esther, kneeling before the feet of the 
king, besought him to put away the evil that 
Haman had devised against the Jews. The 
king instantly held out the golden sceptre to 
her so she arose and stood before him and 
said, “If it please the king and I have found 
favor in his sight, and the thing seem right 
before the king, let it be written to reverse 
the letters written by Haman to destroy the 
Jews which are in all the provinces/’ Further 
she petitioned, “ How can I endure to see the 
evil that shall come upon my people? or how 
can I endure to see the destruction of my 
kindred ? ” Then the king comforted Esther 
and Mordecai and said, “Write ye also what 
ye liketh for the Jews, in the king’s name, and 
seal it with the king’s seal, for the writing 
that is written in the king’s name and sealed 
with the king’s seal, may no man reverse.” 

Again the scribes were called and letters 
were written and sent out through all the 
provinces, by messengers on horseback, mules, 
301 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


camels and young dromedaries, granting all 
Jews, wherever they might be, to arm them¬ 
selves and fight for their lives. They were 
permitted to destroy, to slay and to cause to 
perish, all who would assault them upon the 
day set for their destruction. In turn they 
were authorized to take all their spoil for a 
prey. So the messengers were hastened, and 
the decree was given from the palace. 

Mordecai went out from the presence of the 
king in royal apparel of blue and white, with 
a crown of gold and a garment of fine linen, 
and the city of Shushan rejoiced and was glad. 

In all the provinces the Jews had light and 
joy, and gladness and honor, and many of the 
people became Jews for fear fell upon them. 

When the day came, in which those who 
hated the Jews had hoped to destroy them, 
the Jews gathered themselves together and 
the rulers of the provinces helped them in the 
preparations, for the fear of Mordecai had 
fallen upon them. 

After this Mordecai waxed greater and 
greater. The Jews smote all their enemies, 
and did what they would to all who hated 
them. In Shushan, where the palace was, they 
slew five hundred men, and also the ten sons 
of Haman; but on the spoil they laid not their 

302 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


hands. In all the king’s provinces the Jews 
fought for their lives and slew in all seventy- 
five thousand of their foes, but they laid not 
their hands upon the prey. Then Mordecai 
established a feast to be held every year upon 
the fourteenth and fifteenth of this same 
month, Adar. It was called Purim, which 
means “ by lot,” for Haman had cast lots for 
the best day wherein to destroy the Jews. It 
was also called Queen Esther’s Feast, nor is 
it to be wondered at that the Jews should 
thus perpetuate their love and esteem for the 
good and beautiful queen. 

Mordecai was made next in power to the 
king, Ahasuerus. His renown went through¬ 
out all the kingdom and all obeyed his word. 
He secured the prosperity of his brethren and 
spoke only peace to all his people. 


203 




THE POETICAL BOOKS 
Job—Song of Solomon. 











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Job. 

The Book of Psalms. 
Proverbs. 

Ecclesiastes. 

The Song of Songs. 
















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Job. 


The book of Job is one of the most note¬ 
worthy literary productions in the world; but 
must be read itself to gain any idea of its 
beauty and grandeur. 

Hebrew poetry never indulges in flights of 
fancy but always deals with the deep things 
of God. It takes root in consciousness and 
blossoms in action. 

Bible students have differed widely in opin¬ 
ion as to date and authorship, but all agree as 
regards its wonderful beauty. They differ, 
also, in their concept of Job’s character and 
the lesson that the book is intended to teach. 
It will be well, therefore, in reading this book 
to form our ideas and gain our lesson from 
the book itself. 

One very striking peculiarity is that no ref¬ 
erence is made to the laws and ordinances of 
the Jews. However, whether written before 
Abraham by an unknown author, or before, 
the Exodus by Moses, or in the days of Sol¬ 
omon, the lesson is therein set forth in the 
purest and loftiest style of Hebrew poetry. 
Some even deny that Job was a real character, 
309 


THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


but there was a man—as there are men today 
—of the type called Job in this book. And 
why should not his name have been Job, 
which means “ the afflicted ” ? 

The book itself is a magnificent poem al¬ 
most from beginning to end,—the story of 
a man and his friends. It brings out sig¬ 
nificant lessons,—the necessity of self-analy¬ 
sis, and the evident fact that pride, self- 
righteousness and rebellion cannot be stirred 
up in a man unless they are already there. 
A river that throws up mire and clay must 
have a muddy bed. 

It teaches us that, sooner or later, calamity 
is the result of sin; that suffering will come 
and must remain until the heart is cleansed; 
that those who have the opportunity to know 
God but will not listen to His voice suffer 
most; that the purified heart can see God, 
here and now “ in the flesh ”; and also that 
life is eternal and, to the obedient, peaceful. 

So we will accept the author’s statements 
which he begins in a direct and convincing 
way, saying, “ There was a man in the land 
of Uz, whose name was Job,” 

This man had seven sons and three daugh¬ 
ters, also very great wealth so that he was the 
greatest of all the men of the East. He was 

310 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


considered upright and perfect, one that 
feared God and eschewed evil. 

When speaking of Job’s name, wealth 
and the number of his children the author 
could only make a plain statement of out¬ 
ward appearances, for God alone knoweth 
the heart of man whether it is perfect or not. 

One of Job’s most glaring faults is revealed 
in the beginning of his history, his children 
had grown up in careless, self-indulgent lux¬ 
ury and were much given to feasting and rev¬ 
elry. Job knew that this was wrong and after 
their feasts and riotous merry-making he 
would go and offer burnt sacrifices for each 
of them. “ Thus did Job continually,” but 
had he been really “ perfect ” and upright he 
would have known that “obedience is better 
than to sacrifice.” He was priest in his own 
house but his children did not honor him sim¬ 
ply because he had never enforced obedience. 

Job was considered a very patient man, but 
the story of his life proves him to have been 
impatient almost to blasphemy. It is a sad 
thing for people to be judged better than they 
really are, and this made it all the harder for 
Job. One great virtue stands out in Job’s 
character, a saving grace, outshining and 
overcoming, at last, all that tended to his 
311 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


downfall. This virtue was his unwavering 
fidelity toward God which nothing could 
shake. It is quite evident that Job did not 
see his real enemies, pride and self-righteous¬ 
ness, or he would not have been amazed at 
the sudden and overwhelming calamities 
which came upon him. Had he recognized 
them he would have escaped by cleansing his 
heart, which he eventually did, but not until 
after he had seen himself in the true light and 
abhorred himself because of the evil. 

This latter element in Job’s character was 
the two-edged sword of Truth cutting right 
and left, destroying all that dimmed its luster. 
If Job had seen and confessed to himself and 
God his faults, this element, a lustrous light, 
would have dispelled the evil in his 
nature as gently and painlessly as light dis¬ 
pels the darkness. 

In this poem the Lord and Satan, Good and 
Evil, are represented as talking together. The 
sons of God came to present themselves be¬ 
fore the Lord, and Satan came also. The 
Lord asked Satan: “ Whence comest thou ? ” 
And Satan answered: “ From walking to and 
fro in the earth and from walking up and 
down in it.” Then the Lord asked Satan if 
he had considered Job, how perfect and up- 
312 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


right he was, and Satan answered: “ Doth 
Job fear (walk with) God for nought? Hast 
thou not made a hedge about him, and about 
all that he hath, on every side? Thou hast 
blessed the work of his hands, and his sub¬ 
stance is increased in the land, but put forth 
thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and 
he will curse thee to thy face.” Then the Lord 
said to Satan, “ Behold, all that he hath is in 
thy power; only upon himself put not forth 
thine hand.” So Satan went forth from the 
presence of the Lord. 

This dialogue teaches us that the power of 
Good is to bless and the power of Evil is to 
curse. Evil has no power while good rules, 
but if evil will not yield to God it soon com¬ 
passes its own destruction. In Job’s case his 
fidelity to God could not be shaken so Job, 
himself, was not to be touched. 

Satan chose a time to begin his work when 
Job’s conscience was troubled. While his sons 
and daughters were feasting in their eldest 
brother’s house there came a messenger tell¬ 
ing Job that as the oxen were plowing and 
the cattle were feeding there came a lawless 
band of men who had fallen upon them and 
taken them away after slaying his servants, 
313 




THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


of whom only the messenger, himself, had 
escaped. 

While this one was yet speaking there came 
another and told Job: “ The fire of God hath 
fallen from heaven and consumed all the sheep 
and the servants, and only I am escaped.” 

As this man was telling of the calamity an¬ 
other came in haste to inform Job that the 
camels had all been stolen and the servants 
put to death, he alone had escaped. 

While Job was yet listening to this report 
there came another man running who told 
him that as his sons and daughters were eat¬ 
ing and drinking in the house of their eldest 
brother there came a great wind out of the 
wilderness which smote the house on the four 
corners so that it fell, killing all within. 

Then Job rent his mantle and after shaving 
his head, threw himself upon the ground, say¬ 
ing, “ Naked came I into the world and naked 
shall I leave it. The Lord gave and the Lord 
has taken away; blessed be the name of the 
Lord.” In all this calamity Job sinned not, 
nor charged God foolishly. 

However, Job had not yet learned his les¬ 
son, which seems to have been plain to the 
writer of his story, that, as good belongs to 
truth (light) and is not part, of the mortal; 

314 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


so evil (pride, self-righteousness) belongs to 
ignorance (darkness) and is not part of the 
true man. He was yet to suffer more that 
he might be made better spiritually. 

Again the sons of God presented themselves 
before the Lord, and Satan came also. The 
Lord asked Satan from whence he came, and 
received the same answer as before. Then 
the Lord asked about his servant Job, and 
Satan, disappointed in his first attempt to 
turn Job against God, answered, “ Skin for 
skin, yea, all that a man has will he give for 
his life. But put forth thine hand now and 
touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse 
thee to thy face. ,, Then the Lord said unto Sa¬ 
tan : “ Behold, he is in thine hand, but save 
his life. ,, Then Satan went forth and smote 
Job with a terrible disease. 

The loss of his children and wealth had 
been meekly borne, but now came Satan’s 
greatest test; Job must prove his pure love 
toward God and have the hidden errors of his 
heart laid bare. 

Job, in accord with the custom of his day, 
sat down in ashes to mourn; then his wife, 
looking upon him with contemptuous pity, 
said, “ Dost thou still retain thine integrity ? 
Curse God and die.” But he answered: “Thou 

315 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


speakest as one of the foolish women. What, 
shall we receive good at the hand of the Lord, 
and shall we not receive evil ? ” In all this 
distress Job did not sin with his lips. 

Before going with Job into the darkness 
of his despair, it will be well to remember 
that his punishment was not because he was 
more wicked than other men, in fact he was 
much better, but the sin that is hidden in the 
heart, and, perhaps, lies dormant in the con¬ 
sciousness, needs more scourging to bring it 
to the light, where it may be destroyed, than 
the sins which are written on the face and find 
expression in words. This is exactly what 
was happening to Job; and the question to be 
settled was as to why the righteous should 
suffer, and the wicked prosper. 

Now, Job had three friends who came to 
mourn with, and comfort, him. One, Eliphaz, 
was a prophet; another, Bildad, was a sage; 
the other, Zophar, was an ordinary sort of 
man. All three, however, were very wise in 
their own eyes. They came and sat upon the 
ground about Job, but no one spoke for they 
saw that his grief was exceedingly great. 

For seven long days this awful silence was 
maintained. This time was not spent in com¬ 
munion with the Almighty, they were not 
316 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


listening for the “ still, small voice ”; but, as 
their words afterward proved, each man was 
occupied with his own thoughts and ideas. 

After this Job opened his mouth and cursed 
the day upon which he was bom. This curse, 
pitiful but terrible, is sometimes grand in its 
imagery and always striking in its pathos: 
“ Let the day perish wherein I was bom. And 
as for that night let darkness seize upon it. 
Lo, let that night be solitary, let no joyful 
voice come therein. Let the stars of the twi¬ 
light therein be dark: let it look for light 
but have none: neither let it see the dawning 
of the day.” 

He asked why he had not died the day he 
was born, for then would he have “ lain still 
and been quiet,” would have slept with kings 
and counsellors and be at peace “ Where the 
wicked cease from troubling, and the weary 
are at rest.” 

Now Job began to question God’s goodness 
and justice, and revealed the fact that he never 
had been at peace when he seemed to be so; 
and, moreover, that he had been afraid of 
this very trouble which had come upon him. 
While Job was prosperous and honored by all 
he had been uneasy and distressed for he was 
afraid of something within himself. He corn- 
317 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


plained: “ Why is light given to a man whose 
way is hid, and whom God has hedged in? 
For my sighing cometh before I eat, and my 
roarings are poured out like the waters. For 
the thing which I greatly feared is come upon 
me, and that which I was afraid of is come 
unto me. I was not in safety, neither had I 
rest, neither was I quiet, yet trouble came.” 

Job, in his “ roarings,” had revealed much 
in his character which was unlovely; and now 
his “ comforters,” his three friends, were go¬ 
ing to reveal much that was unkind in their 
thoughts toward him during the seven days 
of silence. 

Eliphaz was the first to answer Job’s ques¬ 
tioning, said he, “ If we assay to commune 
with thee wilt thou be grieved ? Behold, thou 
hast instructed many. Thy words have up- 
holden him that was falling, but now it com¬ 
eth upon thee and thou faintest; it toucheth 
thee and thou art troubled. Is not this thy 
fear, thy hope and the righteousness of thy 
days? Remember, I pray thee, whosoever 
perished, being innocent? They that plow in¬ 
iquity and sow wickedness reap the same. I 
would seek unto God, and unto God would I 
commit my cause. Behold, happy is the man 

318 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


whom God correcteth; therefore despise not 
thou the chastening of the Almighty.” 

Job listened not to this good advice for he 
felt only the sting of his friend’s reproach; 
he was also well aware that it was easy for 
one not in trouble to be wise as regards an¬ 
other’s affliction. So he complained: “ Doth 
the wild ass bray when it has grass ? or loweth 
the ox over his fodder? Do ye imagine to re¬ 
prove words, and the speeches of one who 
is desperate, which are as wind? Now, there¬ 
fore, be content, look upon me; for it is ev¬ 
ident unto you if I lie. Therefore I will not 
refrain my mouth. I will speak in the an¬ 
guish of my spirit; I will complain in the bit¬ 
terness of my soul. Am I a sea, or a whale, 
that thou settest a watch over me?” After 
this burst of passion Job relented a little and 
yielded to a better thought; but still ques¬ 
tioned the justice of God whom he charged 
with being the cause of his troubles. 

Then Bildad spoke to Job, saying, “How 
long wilt thou speak these things? and how 
long will the words of thy mouth be as a 
strong wind? Doth God pervert judgment 
or doth the Almighty pervert justice? If 
thou wert pure and upright surely now he 
would awake and make the habitation of thy 
319 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


righteousness prosperous.” He advised Job 
to study the wisdom of the past, saying, “ Be¬ 
hold, God will not cast away a perfect man, 
neither will he help the evil doers: he will 
yet fill thy mouth with laughter and thy lips 
with rejoicing. They that hate thee shall 
be clothed with shame, and the tents of the 
wicked shall be no more.” Each of these 
friends seem to refer to some unseen enemy 
which they suspected was in Job, and which 
they expected God would destroy. 

Then Job answered in a gentler mood than 
before: “ I know it is so of a truth: but how 
can man be just with God?” In beautiful 
imagery he spoke of the greatness of God: 
“ Which alone spreadeth out the heavens, 
and treadeth upon the waves of the sea. 
Which maketh Arcturus, Orion, and Pleia¬ 
des, and the chambers of the South. Lo, he 
goeth by me, but I see him not; he passeth on 
also and I perceive him not. If I had called 
and he had answered me, yet would I not be¬ 
lieve that he harkened unto my voice, for he 
breaketh me with a tempest and multiplieth 
my wounds without a cause. He destroyeth 
the perfect and the wicked. He will laugh 
at the trial of the innocent. The earth is 
given into the hand of the wicked, he cov- 
320 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


ereth the faces of the judges thereof, if not, 
where, and who is he?” 

Then Zophar, the third friend, spoke re¬ 
provingly to Job for his attempted self-jus¬ 
tification : “ Should not the multitude of words 
be answered? And should a man full of talk 
be justified? Should thy lies make men hold 
their peace? And when thou mockest should 
no man make thee ashamed? For thou hast 
said, My doctrine is pure, and I am clean in 
thine eyes. Know, therefore, that God ex- 
acteth of thee less than thy iniquity deserv- 
eth.” Then he advised Job to prepare his 
heart and stretch out his hands toward God, 
and He would make his life clearer than the 
noonday, he should shine forth and be as 
the morning. These sweet words of wisdom 
were drowned in Job’s consciousness by the 
withering sarcasm of Zophar’s reproof. It 
was too much for the long-suffering and un¬ 
happy patriarch and he exclaimed in anger: 
“ No doubt ye are the people and wisdom will 
die with you.” Then after more complain¬ 
ing he turned upon his three merciless friends 
and said, “ What ye know, the same I know 
also: I am not inferior unto you. Surely I 
would speak to the Almighty, and I desire 
to reason with God. But ye are forgers of 
321 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


lies, ye are all physicians of no value. O 
that ye would altogether hold your peace, 
and it should be your wisdom. ,, 

But Job soon began to recover himself 
again, and his great trust in God returned. 
Cried he, “ Though he slay me yet will I trust 
in him, he also shall be my salvation. Call thou 
and I will answer; or let me speak and an¬ 
swer thou me. Make me to know my trans¬ 
gression and my sin.” 

Eliphaz and Bildad each reproved Job again 
in scornful and unkind terms, and the poor, 
weary sufferer answered them in no uncer¬ 
tain words: “ I have heard many such things, 
miserable comforters are ye all. How long 
will ye vex my soul, and break me in pieces 
with words ? ” Then he fell to lamenting 
that God had misjudged him. He requested 
his friends to listen, and if they would do so, 
then, after he was through, they might “ mock 
on.” Job, becoming indifferent to the reproof 
and harshness of his friends, began to reflect 
and this soon produced a gentler mood. He 
said, “ God maketh my heart soft, and the 
Almighty troubleth me. O that I knew where 
I might find him! that I might come even 
to his seat! But he knoweth the way that I 
take: when he hath tried me I shall come forth 

322 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


as gold.” In this softened mood Job spoke 
long and quietly in a parable, wonderful in 
its wisdom and beauty; but he spoiled it all 
by ending with a lament upon his departed 
greatness and present distress. He extolled 
himself for what he had been in former days, 
and pitied himself for the losses he had sus¬ 
tained and because he had become a by-word 
even among the meanest sort of people. 

During the long talk between Job and his 
three comforters, who had hindered rather 
than helped their friend, a young man named 
Elihu had stood close by listening to all that 
had been said. When he heard Job’s last 
speech his own anger was kindled against 
him because he justified himself instead of 
God. His ire was also raised against the other 
three men for they answered not Job’s ques¬ 
tions, yet freely condemned him. 

Elihu drew near and began modestly, say¬ 
ing, “ I am young and ye are very old. Days 
should speak and years should teach wisdom. 
Great men are not always wise; neither do the 
aged understand judgment; therefore I said, 
Hearken unto me, I will show my opinion, 
for I am full of words, the spirit within me 
constraineth me. I attended unto you, and 
behold, there was none that convinced Job, 
323 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


or that answered his words. Neither will I 
answer him with your speeches. My words 
shall be of the uprightness of my heart: and 
my lips shall utter knowledge clearly. Be¬ 
hold, I am according to thy wish, in God’s 
stead: I also am formed out of clay. Behold, 
my terror shall not make thee afraid, neither 
shall my hand be heavy upon thee.” 

Elihu had surely come in answer to Job’s 
prayer as an umpire between Job and God, 
to show him wherein his sin lay and why he 
was suffering such penalty. He spoke to him 
gently, reminding him that he had said “ I 
am clean, without transgression,” and pointed 
out to him that in this he was not just. He 
talked kindly to these old men and showed them 
that God could do no evil, but that every man 
brings upon himself just that which is in ac¬ 
cordance with his own thoughts and actions, 
“ For the work of a man shall he render 
unto him and cause every man to find accord¬ 
ing to his ways.” Elihu asked: “ Is it fit to 
say to a king, Thou art wicked? Then how 
much less to him that accepteth not the per¬ 
sons of kings. Surely it is meet to be said 
unto God, I have borne chastisement, I will 
not offend any more: that which I see not, 
teach thou me.” Turning to Job, he asked, 

324 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


“ Thinkest thou this to be right that thou 
saidst, My righteousness is more than God’s? 
and, What profit shall I have if I be cleansed 
from my sin? I will answer thee and thy 
companions with thee.” 

Then Elihu spoke of God’s greatness and 
goodness, and His nearness to those who seek 
Him “ who giveth songs in the night,” being 
careful to point out to them that God would 
not listen to vanity. Therefore Job had op¬ 
ened his mouth in vain for he had only mul¬ 
tiplied words without knowledge. 

Elihu told them that God was not injured 
by man’s evil doings, nor is He profited by 
man’s righteousness. What a man sows that 
shall he reap. As a man’s heart inclineth 
so shall he walk; if toward God then in peace; 
if toward evil, then in confusion. He said, 
“ Touching the Almighty we cannot find him 
but he is excellent in power and in judgment 
and in plenty of justice: he will not afflict.” 
This much man can know about God. 

The words of Elihu sank deep into the 
consciousness of Job, and he heard, as it were, 
the voice of God out of the whirlwind of his 
own confused thoughts. This voice asked: 
“ Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words 
without wisdom? Gird up thy loins like a 
325 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


man, for I will demand of thee and answer 
thou me. Where wast thou when I laid the 
foundations of the earth? when the morn¬ 
ing stars sang together, and all the sons of 
God shouted for joy? Hast thou commanded 
the morning since thy days: and caused the 
day-spring to know his place? Where is the 
way where light dwelleth? and as for dark¬ 
ness where is the place thereof? Canst thou 
bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, or loose 
the bands of Orion? Canst thou bring forth 
Mazzaroth in his season ? or canst thou guide 
Arcturus with his sons? Doth the hawk fly 
by thy wisdom and stretch her wings toward 
the South? Doth the eagle mount up at thy 
command, and make her nest on high? Shall 
he that contendeth with the Almighty instruct 
him? He that reproveth God, let him answer 
it? ” 

The stricken Job answered: “ Behold, I 
am vile, I will lay my hand upon my mouth.” 
God said unto him “ Gird up thy loins now like 
a man: I will demand of thee and declare 
thou unto me. Wilt thou also disannul my 
judgment? Wilt thou condemn me that thou 
mayest be righteous? Hast thou an arm like 
God? Deck thyself now with majesty and 
excellency: and array thyself with glory and 
326 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


beauty. Cast abroad the rage of thy wrath: 
and behold everyone that is proud and debase 
him. Look upon everyone who is proud and 
bring him low: then will I also confess unto 
thee that thine own right hand can save thee. ,, 

Then Job meekly answered the Lord: “I 
know that thou canst do everything and that 
no thought can be withholden from thee. 
Therefore have I uttered that I understood 
not. Hear, I beseech thee, and I will speak. 
I have heard of thee by the hearing of the 
ear: but now mine eyes seeth thee. Where¬ 
fore I abhor myself and repent in dust and 
ashes.” 

The consciousness of Eliphaz was also 
awakened and he heard the voice of God re¬ 
proving him and saying that he and his two 
friends had not spoken even as well as Job. 
They were ordered to bring offerings for 
themselves and to offer them in Job’s pres¬ 
ence, for only the prayers of Job in their be¬ 
half would save them, otherwise he was to 
deal with them according to their folly. They 
did as the Lord commanded. The Lord also 
accepted Job. 

Now came the crowning glory of Job’s re¬ 
pentance. He prayed for his false friends 
who had deprived him of what little peace he 
327 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


had left at the time of their coming. Though 
they had heaped reproaches and bitterness 
upon him yet now he prayed for them. Thus 
did he return good for evil, and at the out¬ 
set of his new life showed what a change 
had come over him. The reward came with 
it for, “The Lord turned the captivity of 
Job ” when he prayed for his friends; and also 
gave Job greater possessions than all that 
he had owned before calamity came upon him. 
All his relatives came to see him after he was 
healed, each one bringing him a piece of money 
and an earring of gold. The Lord blessed 
the new Job much more even than the old 
one, and added greatly to his fame and pros¬ 
perity. 

He had again seven sons and three daugh¬ 
ters, and in all the land were found no women 
so fair as the daughters of Job. Job lived 
one hundred and forty years after his healing, 
and saw even four generations of his children. 
He died full of years, honored and respected 
of all, and accounted one of the most just 
and perfect men of his day. 

The book teaches that pride and self-right¬ 
eousness are sinful, and that all sinfulness 
brings affliction. When Job was willing to 
set self aside and learn of God then peace 

328 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


and prosperity came back to him as a sign 
of God’s love and mercy. 

When he had learned to know God as Love 
he was able to pray for his enemies, and for 
all men, and his wife was made rich and beau¬ 
tiful. 


329 



The Book of Psalms. 


The Book of Psalms, (Sacred Songs), was 
the hymnal of the ancient church in David’s 
time. It is wonderful in its scope, beauty of 
expression, its practical lessons, and its help¬ 
fulness. 

The Psalms are called the “ Psalms of Da¬ 
vid,” because he collected them in a book 
for service in the temple, and because he is 
supposed to have written the most of them, but 
in composition they cover over one thousand 
years of Hebraic history. 

They sing praises to the greatness and 
goodness of God, and teach that only good Dan 
come to the good and evil to the evil. 

They recognize enemies as being both with¬ 
in and without man, and portray the struggle 
of the human heart toward pure good. 

They teach man to turn his thoughts to¬ 
ward God at all times, and to find Him a 
very present help in time of trouble. 

The collection of Psalms is divided into 
five parts called books, each book closing with 
a doxology. This arrangement is supposed 
to have been made by Ezra at the time of the 
330 


THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


rebuilding of the temple at Jerusalem. The 
first book closes with the forty-first psalm; 
the second with the seventy-second; the third, 
with the eighty-ninth psalm; the fourth, with 
the one hundred and sixth psalm; and the 
balance to the one hundred and fiftieth con¬ 
stitutes the fifth book. The hymnal itself 
closes with a grand doxology sung in Ezra’s 
time by a choir of over two hundred singers,' 
men and women, with many musical instru¬ 
ments. 

The ninetieth psalm is the oldest in the col¬ 
lection, and was, undoubtedly, written by the 
grand old leader, Moses. The twenty-third 
psalm is beloved by all the leading nations 
of the world, and the ninety-first is the 
comfort of millions. The one hundred and 
nineteenth is the longest of the collection. 
It is divided into twenty-two stanzas bear¬ 
ing the names of the twenty-two letters of the 
Hebrew alphabet. Each stanza contains eight 
verses, each verse two parts. It throbs from 
beginning to end with love of God’s law. “ O 
how I love thy law! it is my meditation all 
the day.” “ Great peace have they which 
love thy law: and nothing shall offend them.” 

Following this are fifteen short psalms, en¬ 
titled “ Songs of Degrees.” Opinions regard- 
331 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


ing these psalms are many and varied, some 
believing that these psalms were sung on 
fifteen steps leading from the court of Israel 
to the court of the women, which would have 
been a very solemn and significant part of the 
service. A more modern thought is that 
they were intended to cheer the pilgrim and 
prepare his thought for the temple service 
during his ascent to Jerusalem. 

Books second and third differ from the oth¬ 
ers in that they do not use the name Jehovah 
for Deity, but always Elohim (God). Thus, 
in the fifty-third psalm, which is a repetition 
of the fourteenth, is found the title Jehovah 
instead of Elohim as in the other. 

The Psalms emphasize the saving and heal¬ 
ing power of God and show that “ Fools, 
because of their transgressions and because 
of their iniquities, are afflicted.” When they 
turn to God He lifts them from all sin, all 
want, all pain: “ He sent his word and healed 
them, and delivered them from their de¬ 
structions.” Moreover, they bring out the 
thought wherein lieth true sacrifice. “ Sac¬ 
rifice and offering thou didst not desire; 
mine ears hast thou opened; burnt offer¬ 
ing and sin offering hast thou not required.” 
“ Offer the sacrifice of righteousness (right 

332 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


thinking), and put your trust in the Lord.” 
The psalmist sees, as did Job, that man is to 
be purified, not God appeased. God’s work 
and laws are changeless and perfect, where¬ 
in, “ Mercy and truth are met together; right¬ 
eousness and peace have kissed each other.” 

No need to command David, as Job of old, 
“ Gird up now thy loins like a man, for I will 
demand of thee and answer thou me.” Da¬ 
vid seemed to know. He looks out upon the 
devastating storm with awe, but in the midst 
of wanton destruction he realized that there 
was over all the confusion a perfect universe, 
and a loving Father who, as the Lord, “ will 
bless his people with peace.” This spirit¬ 
ual understanding must culminate in man’s 
dominion over self and his surroundings un¬ 
til he can say to the tempest “ Peace, be still.” 

Looking up into the heavens, realizing the 
infinite Intelligence that holds each star in 
its place and controls, in silence, the innum¬ 
erable worlds, the author exclaims, “ What 
is man that thou art mindful of him? ” Then, 
back of the mortal which must disappear, he 
sees the true man and declares: “ Thou hast 
made him but little lower than God and hast 
crowned him with glory and honor. Thou 
madest him to have dominion over the works of 
333 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


thy hands; thou hast put all things under 
his feet.” (R. V.) 

The Psalms are full of prophecies and al¬ 
lusions to the coming Messiah. David himself 
is taken as a type: “ I have found David my 
servant, with my holy oil have I anointed 
him, * * * also will I make him, my first¬ 
born, higher than the kings of the earth.” 
They cover a wide range of human thought 
and conjecture, but sweep aside the changing 
and unstable, revealing the changeless and 
perfect,—the omnipotent and omnipresent 
God, and the true man’s relation to Him. 
“ Whither shall I go from thy Spirit ? or 
whither shall I flee from thy presence? If 
I ascend up into heaven thou art there: if I 
make my bed in hell (sheol), behold, thou 
art there. If I take the wings of the morn¬ 
ing, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the 
sea: even there shall thy hand lead me, and 
thy right hand shall hold me.” 

The whole book is precious beyond words, 
and every man, woman and child in our land 
should have a copy, bound under separate 
cover. Much of it should be committed to 
memory, and parts of it pondered daily. 


334 



Proverbs. 


The book of Proverbs, like the book of 
Psalms, is, no doubt, the product of many 
different writers, “ wise men,” without regard 
to the teachings of priest or prophet, or even 
confined to the Israelites as a nation. It is 
composed of maxims and truths applicable to 
all men, at all times in all nations. Its teach¬ 
ings are ethical in principle, resting upon a 
religious foundation. These proverbs appeal 
to the conscience of man as regards moral ob¬ 
ligation and the duty of individuals in the 
performance of the universal laws of God. 

The essence of some of them came down, 
no doubt, through the ages of most ancient 
times, living in the consciousness of man and 
perpetuated by oral expression until perma¬ 
nently recorded in the “ Proverbs.” They are 
most certainly the product of wide experience 
in human affairs and deep contemplation of 
cause and effect, also of God’s will and God's 
way. 

Solomon has been called the “ Poet Sage 
of Israel,” and this book “ The Proverbs of 
Solomon.” This title is well merited, as Sol- 
335 


THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


omon began—about 1000 B. C.—to collect 
them in book form, and also because he was, 
undoubtedly, the author of some three thou¬ 
sand of these sayings. Later King Hezekiah 
collected and added others during his reign. 

The Proverbs briefly and forcefully ex¬ 
press spiritual truth. They are not touched 
with the fire and brilliancy of which Solomon 
was sometimes capable, but are deep and calm, 
always holding in view their great purpose. 
For this reason they sink into the conscious¬ 
ness willing to do the right and thus remain 
as character builders. The burden of their 
teaching is ever the value of spiritual wis¬ 
dom in contradistinction to mere human 
knowledge. “ Wisdom is the principal thing, 
therefore get wisdom; and with all thy get¬ 
ting get understanding.” 

Wisdom is personalized and made a part 
of God: “ Doth not wisdom cry ? and under¬ 
standing put forth her voice? She standeth 
in the top of high places, by the way of the 
places of the paths. Unto you, O men, will 
I call; and my voice is to the sons of man. 
Counsel is mine and sound wisdom; I am un¬ 
derstanding : I have strength. The Lord 
possessed me in the beginning of his way, 
before his works of old. I was set up from 

336 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the 
earth was. When he prepared the heavens 
I was there; when he set a compass upon the 
depth: when he appointed the foundations of 
the earth: Then was I by him as one brought 
up with him: and I was daily his delight, re¬ 
joicing alway before him. Now therefore 
hearken unto me, ye children: for blessed are 
they that keep my ways.” Wisdom offers a 
sure abiding place of Truth and Love, for, 
“ Wisdom hath builded her house, she hath 
hewn out her seven pillars. And she sitteth 
at the door of the house, on a seat in the high 
places of the city, to call to them that pass 
by, who go right on their ways, Whoso is 
simple (innocent) let him turn in hither; and 
as for him that is void of understanding, she 
saith to him, Stolen waters are sweet, and 
bread eaten in secret is pleasant. But he 
knoweth not that the dead are there; That 
her guests are in the depths of sheol.” 

How true it is that the failings of men are 
much the same in all ages. In this book we 
read of the besetting sins of those who lived 
so many, many years ago; yet today the world, 
filled with the same lamentable passions, is 
rebuked by these ancient words and sayings. 


337 



Ecclesiastes 


Ecclesiastes means the “preacher,” “teach¬ 
er/’ or “ assembler.” In the Hebrew the 
name has a feminine termination, but is gen¬ 
erally rendered as a masculine noun. The 
masculine significance of the word evidently 
stands for Solomon with his vast store of 
worldly knowledge, and the feminine for the 
spiritual understanding with which he was im¬ 
bued during his last days, and which was true 
wisdom. 

It has generally been supposed that Solo¬ 
mon was the author of this book, but as the 
language apparently belongs to a later age of 
Hebrew literature it is today doubted by some. 
Solomon was considered the wisest man of 
his day; he was familiar with the wise and 
great of many nations and he may have been 
in advance—in this respect as in all others— 
of his literary contemporaries. If written by 
another, it must have been someone very in¬ 
timate with Solomon’s life and thought. 

Solomon, above all others, would seem most 
capable of writing Ecclesiastes, the whole 
theme of which is the nothingness of worldly 
338 


THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


wisdom and material things “under the sun.” 
“ Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, all 
is vanity.” 

Although the word “preacher” is often 
used in the third person, there are many pas¬ 
sages plainly written in the first person, thus, 
“ I, the Preacher, was king over Israel in Je¬ 
rusalem. * * * and I gave my heart to know 
wisdom (human) and to know madness and 
folly: I perceived that this also is vexation 
of spirit.” (was a striving after wind. R. V.) 

No man could so well have written this book 
as Solomon who had fathomed human knowl¬ 
edge and drunk to the dregs the cup of worldly 
pleasure. 

Though Solomon’s brilliant reign left a 
devastated path along which Israel traveled 
to its final downfall, yet he, repentant and 
touched by spiritual understanding, has left 
to the world in the Proverbs and Ecclesiastes 
a shower of gems whose luster will endure 
throughout all time. 

In Ecclesiastes the theme, the nothingness 
of all earhtly things, begins and ends it. The 
body of the book is filled with fragmentary 
expressions of experience and advice; but 
the one theme recurs over and over again, 
339 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


showing the author’s deep conviction of a 
wasted life. 

Ewald declares: “ In no earlier writing has 
all cause of pride and vain imagination so 
decidedly and so comprehensively been taken 
from man.” Thus, the first faint outline of 
thought found in the second chapter of Gen¬ 
esis finds its full consummation and emphatic 
declaration in the book of Ecclesiastes. 

In summing up Solomon, himself, says, 
“ Let us hear the conclusion of the whole mat¬ 
ter: Fear God and keep his commandments, 
for this is the whole duty of man.” 


340 



The Song of Songs. 


The poetical portion of the Old Testament 
ends with the “ Song of Songs/’ or, as it is 
more frequently called, “ The Song of Sol¬ 
omon.” 

The general opinion is that it was written 
by Solomon, though some seem to think that 
it was written of him at a later date. 

If it is purely allegorical in its conception 
then it is quite beyond the understanding of 
the average reader. Opinions regarding its 
theme differ widely. Some think it refers to 
spiritual love and fidelity, others that it is 
prophetic of the time when purity and inno¬ 
cence are to be united with truth and this 
when the false love is overcome in man’s heart 
and the divine love revealed. Some think it 
historical rather than religious, that it refers 
to the difference between the northern prov¬ 
inces of Israel and the capital and fore¬ 
shadows their separation. Others again,—- 
and their number is increasing,—think it to be 
the expression of Solomon’s life and thought 
before he began to realize what a paltry bauble 
was human wisdom and love as compared 

341 


THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


with spiritual understanding and divine love. 
“ Many waters cannot quench love, neither 
can the floods drown it: If a man would give 
all the substance of his house for love, it 
would utterly be contemned.” 


342 



THE PROPHETICAL BOOKS. 
Major Prophets. 


Isaiah—Daniel. 





The Prophets. 

Isaiah. 

Jeremiah. 

The Lamentations of Jeremiah. 
Ezekiel. 

Daniel. 





/ 




The Prophets. 


Great nations produce great men character¬ 
istic of time and place: philosophers, poets, 
artists, statesmen and so forth. To all these 
Israel added yet another class called prophets. 
The prophet, after a time, became such a pro¬ 
nounced and important figure in Jewish affairs 
that they were, unfortunately, taken under 
royal protection and most of them degener¬ 
ated into mere professional talkers, many of 
them even given to incantations and foolish 
dances. 

Still, from their ranks or more frequently 
from outside, men would arise who were true 
prophets of God. These would fearlessly con¬ 
tradict and denounce the false prophets, who 
talked to please the king and people, and were 
usually severely persecuted and sometimes 
stoned to death. 

But all things are weighed in the true bal¬ 
ance in the process of time, and so the 
prophets of God have been recorded in the 
Hebrew Bible, while the false have been 
nearly lost sight of except that, in some cases, 
347 


THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


their history has been preserved as a warning 
to others. 

The mission of the prophet was not only to 
foretell the coming of future events, but to 
warn the people as to the results of disobedi¬ 
ence to divine counsel, and to urge them into 
the path of righteousness. 

The prophetic portion of the Bible is di¬ 
vided into two parts called the Major and 
Minor Prophets. The first four are the 
Major, and the last twelve the Minor, 
Prophets. 


348 



Isaiah. 


Isaiah was the greatest of all the Old Testa¬ 
ment prophets. He began his work under 
Uzziah, teaching and prophesying also under 
Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah for fifty years or 
more. His first appearance is as a full-grown 
man, who introduces himself as the son of 
Amoz. That is all we know of his early his¬ 
tory. But Gilfillan writes of him: “ He was 
a prince among a generation of princes—a 
Titan among a tribe of Titans. His prophecy 
opens with a sublime complaint; it frequently 
irritates into noble anger, it subdues into 
irony, it melts into pathos; but the general 
tone is that of victorious exultation.” 

The book which bears his name is naturally 
divided into two parts. So natural is this 
division and so marked the difference between 
the two parts that some critics have even gone 
so far as to declare their belief as to there 
having been two Isaiahs, the latter one being 
designated as “the great unknown.” How¬ 
ever, their arguments are not convincing. It 
seems incredible that one capable of such work 
should escape mention, or even notice, at a 
349 


THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


time when the history of Judah and the sur¬ 
rounding nations was more full than at any 
previous period, especially as Judah was a 
separate and independent nation. 

It is much easier to conceive of the differ¬ 
ence in language as the result of the difference 
in theme, the wider experience of the prophet 
and the environment. 

Traditions assert that in after years Isaiah 
was sawn asunder; and Gilfillan wittily 
charges these critics with having “ recently 
sought to imitate the operation, to cut our 
present Isaiah in two.” Bishop Lowth, whose 
scholarship is unquestioned, found no diffi¬ 
culty in admitting the one Isaiah to be the 
author of the whole book, first and last. 

During the years of Judah’s greatest pros¬ 
perity as a separate nation Isaiah predicted 
her downfall, and the destruction of Jerusalem. 
Looking still further into the future he proph¬ 
esied the restoration of a remnant of the Jews. 
Later, and with more penetrating gaze into 
the vast future, he prophesied of a day to 
come when all nations should dwell in uni¬ 
versal peace and harmony,—a day so far dis¬ 
tant from our own time that the dove of peace 
can find “ no rest for the sole of her foot.” 

Even in the midst of the confusion which 

350 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


reigns, socially and religiously, upon earth 
today there are lovers of humanity,—who are 
also thinkers,—looking outward and upward 
who see a faint glimmer of that prophesied 
day when “ the lion shall eat hay like the ox, 
and war shall be no more, for the earth shall 
be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the 
waters cover the sea.” 

The “ vision ” of Isaiah evidently covers the 
whole of his prophecies, for he refers to it as 
that which he saw in the days of Uzziah, 
Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. 
This would include the complete period of his 
office. 

Like many of the prophets and poets of the 
Bible Isaiah makes a sweeping call: “ Give 
ear, O ye heavens, and give ear O earth, for 
the Lord hath spoken.” 

He pleads with the people to turn from their 
worldly beliefs and to realize their likeness to 
God. “ O house of Jacob come ye and let us 
walk in the light of the Lord.” “ Cease ye 
from man whose breath is in his nostrils; for 
wherein is he to be accounted of ? ” 

He sets this man “ whose breath is in his 
nostrils ” lower than the beasts and exclaims: 
“ The ox knoweth his owner but Israel doth 
not know, my people doth not consider.” 

351 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


Isaiah was a citizen of Jerusalem and be¬ 
cause of his name was supposed to have been 
of the royal family. His wife was a prophet¬ 
ess, and their three sons were given names 
that would emphasize thought among the peo¬ 
ple. One meant, “ God with us/’ another, “A 
remnant shall return,” and the third, “ Spoil 
speedeth—prey hasteneth.” 

Isaiah not only foretold the downfall of 
Israel, the captivity and exile of Judah and 
the return of a remnant, but also of the com¬ 
ing of a son of David, first as a conquering 
prince, then as a suffering, forgiving Savior 
bearing away the sins of the world. 

Isaiah declared that there should come 
forth a branch from the root of Jesse—the line 
of David—and that the spirit of the Lord 
would rest upon him and make him of quick 
understanding. He would not judge by what 
he saw with his eyes or heard with his ears, 
but according to spiritual law with righteous¬ 
ness and truth. He should smite the earth 
(materialism) with the rod (words) of his 
mouth and the breath of his lips,—the inspira¬ 
tion of his teaching,—should slay the wicked, 
that is, destroy sin and error. 

Isaiah also prophesied a second return of 
his people “And it shall come to pass that the 
352 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


Lord will set his hand a second time to re¬ 
cover the remnant of his people.” The 
fulfillment of that prophecy seems to be dawn¬ 
ing, not only for His ancient people but for all 
nations of the earth who shall come under the 
“ rod ” of the “ Prince of Peace.” 

“ Of the increase of his government and 
peace there shall be no end, upon the throne 
of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, 
and to establish it with judgment and with 
righteousness from henceforth even forever. 
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform 
this. 

“And he will destroy in this mountain the 
face of the covering that is cast over the face 
of all peoples, and the veil that is spread over 
all nations. He hath swallowed up death for¬ 
ever; and the Lord God will wipe away all 
tears from off all faces; and the reproach of 
his people will he take away from off all the 
earth: for the Lord hath spoken it.” 


353 



Jeremiah. 


This prophet began his ministry about 
seventy years after the close of Isaiah’s, and 
continued throughout the reigns of Josiah, 
Jehoiakim and Zedekiah, B. C. 629 to B. C. 
588. He was not a native of Jerusalem but 
was born of a priestly line in a priestly city of 
Benjamin and came to Jerusalem while quite 
young. 

He had no wife or child; his one love was 
for his country and his people. He prophesied 
during the dark days of Judah’s folly and ap¬ 
proaching ruin. The good king Josiah was 
his friend, but their work was of little avail, 
and when Josiah died Jeremiah had no firm 
friend left. 

So vivid was the picture of the desolation to 
come, to his eye, that it saddened his whole 
life. His constant reproof and persistent 
pleadings turned the people against him. 

As political and religious corruption in¬ 
creased, more vehement became his rebuke, 
and his life was often endangered. 

His ministry separated the disobedient from 
354 


THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


the faithful and prepared the remnant worthy 
of carrying out God’s plans. 

He prophesied the seventy years’ captivity 
in Babylon, and withstood Judah’s alliance 
with Egypt as he foresaw that a king would 
arise (even Cyrus) in Babylon who would 
permit this remnant to return and rebuild the 
temple at Jerusalem. 

The prophecies of Jeremiah, to some critics, 
have been so carelessly compiled as to form 
something of a jumble; but Ewald, in his care¬ 
ful analysis, finds that there are five distinct 
books and his arrangement is accepted by 
most scholars. 

Almost the whole book is a wail of sorrow 
for his disobedient people, and the burden of 
his prophecies is that deliverance and salva¬ 
tion can come only through judgment. 

Jeremiah more than any other prophet real¬ 
ized that individual conviction is the only 
foundation of a nation’s hope; the basis of an 
unwritten covenant binding all the people to¬ 
gether. This new covenant he announces 
with joy: “After those days, saith the Lord, 
I will put my law in their inward parts, and 
will write it in their hearts; and will be their 
God, and they shall be my people. And they 
shall teach no more every man his neighbor, 
355 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


and every man his brother, saying, Know the 
Lord; for they shall all know me from the 
least of them unto the greatest of them, saith 
the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and 
I will remember their sin no more.” 

Captivity seemed the only way to separate 
the faithful from the worthless. 

“ Then said the Lord unto me, though 
Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my 
mind could not be toward this people; cast 
them out of my sight, and let them go forth.” 

Jeremiah laments: “ My people hath been 
lost sheep; their shepherds (false prophets) 
have caused them to go astray, they have 
turned them away on the mountains; they 
have gone from mountain to hill, they have 
forgotten their resting place.” 

He also prophesied of the coming Messiah, 
saying, “ Behold, saith the Lord, the days 
come that I will perform that good thing 
which I have promised unto the house of 
Israel and to the house of Judah. In those 
days and at that time will I cause the Branch 
of righteousness to grow up into David: and 
he shall execute judgment and righteousness 
in the land.” 


356 



The Lamentations of Jeremiah. 

This book belongs in the poetic rather than 
in the prophetic portion of the Bible. All 
critics seem to be united in attributing the 
authorship of both this book and the proph¬ 
ecies to Jeremiah. Parts of the book are 
written in acrostic form, the verses beginning 
with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet, some¬ 
times in regular order, sometimes not. 

It is, from beginning to end, the sad lament 
of a broken heart over the self-destruction of 
his people; the desolation of the great city and 
the ruin of the beloved temple. 

Bishop Lowth says of this grand composi¬ 
tion : “ Never was there a more rich and ele¬ 
gant variety of beautiful images and adjuncts 
arrayed together within so small a compass, 
nor more happily chosen and applied.” 

One can almost see the grief-stricken but 
indomitable man of God sitting in the midst 
of the desolation and misery uttering his com¬ 
plaint : “ How doth the city sit solitary that 
was full of people! how is she become as a 
widow! she that was great among the nations, 
357 


THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


and princess among the provinces, how is she 
become tributary! ” And this sad plaint: 

“The joy of our heart is ceased; our dance is 
turned into mourning. 

The crown is fallen from our head: woe unto 
us that we have sinned! 

For this our heart is faint; for these things 
our eyes are dim. 

Because of the mountain of Zion, which is 
desolate, the foxes walk upon it. 

Thou, O Lord, remainest forever; thy throne 
from generation to generation.” 

From the cave near the ruined city, wherein 
he wrote the Lamentations, Jeremiah was 
taken, and, much against his will, carried, by 
some of his own countrymen, down into Egypt 
where he was put to death. 


358 



Ezekiel. 


Ezekiel, the third of the Major Prophets, 
was also a priest. He was of the house of 
Buzi, thus coming of a family of priests. Be¬ 
fore the destruction of Jerusalem he was 
carried, with other priests, nobles and princes, 
into captivity by Nebuchadnezzar and placed 
in the Jewish settlement about two hundred 
miles north of Babylon, on the banks of the 
river Chebar. Five years after the captivity 
he began his ministry as a prophet, an office 
which he filled for twenty-two years. 

His first duty was to tell the Jews of the 
utter destruction of their city and temple. But 
in so doing he also told them that the day 
would come when they would possess a greater 
city, a spiritual one whose ruler would be the 
Prince of Peace, and a nobler temple whose 
builder and maker would be God. 

So high was he held in the esteem of the 
Jews that the elders frequently came to him 
for advice, and to receive his messages from 
the Lord. 

Ezekiel was contemporary with, though re¬ 
mote from, Jeremiah, who had prophesied 
359 


THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


thirty-four years before he began and con¬ 
tinued seven years after he had finished. He 
mentions Daniel by name, and as they were in 
captivity together it is quite probable that they 
were well known to each other. 

In character he was stern and firm, well 
fitted to deal with this stubborn people. It 
has been said of him that he always “ acted, 
thought and felt as a prophet.” 

His style is characteristic but hampered by 
the decline of the language in which he wrote. 
His devotion to his work obliterated all 
thought of self. Only once does he speak of 
his own life, after the death of his wife; and 
then only in a few words, but which speak 
volumes: “Also the word of the Lord came 
to me saying, son of man, behold I take away 
from thee the desire of thine eyes with a 
stroke; yet neither shalt thou mourn nor weep, 
neither shall thy tears run down. Forbear to 
cry, make no mourning for the dead, bind 
the tire of thine head upon thee, and put on 
thy shoes upon thy feet, and cover not thy 
lips, and eat not the bread of men. So I spake 
unto the people in the morning; and at even 
my wife died; and I did in the morning as I 
was commanded.” 

Ezekiel predicts the restoration of Jerusa- 

360 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


lem and foretells of a time to come when 
Israel shall dwell with peace and prosperity 
in her unwalled cities. He also prophesies a 
time of great tumult (yet to come) when 
“ Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and 
Tubal ” will come from the North Country 
with a great multitude of people, tribes and 
nations against the peaceful land; but Gog 
will be met by overflowing rains, great hail¬ 
stones, fire and brimstone. Gog will secure 
only a place of graves, and he, himself, with 
all his multitudes shall be buried in a place 
that will be called the “ Valley of Hamon- 

yy 

g°g. 

The Greek translation of the Old Testament 
made about B. C. 300, reads, “ Gog, Prince 
of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal.” It is stated on 
good authority that this reference is to the 
vast Russian empire. Gog is a symbolic title 
for the ruler of all the Russias and Magog for 
his land. Thus, apparently, Russia was pointed 
out by an ancient prophet long before she had 
come into existence. 

The “ Battle of the Kings ” recorded in 
Genesis is typical of this great battle, yet to 
come, when Gog of the land of Magog will 
be defeated in his malicious warfare against 
a peaceful land. 


361 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


In the last battle to be fought Gog and 
Magog are purely symbolical terms. This 
battle will be the bloodless but bitter struggle 
wherein the carnal mind will be destroyed by 
the Mind of the Prince of Peace. 


362 



Daniel. 


The story of Daniel's life is full of interest 
and instruction. He was of royal birth, a 
prince of Judah, but with others was carried 
captive into Babylon while quite young. The 
king of that country had his master of serv¬ 
ants pick, from among the captives, all the 
princes who were well favored, without blem¬ 
ish, skilful in all wisdom, cunning in knowl¬ 
edge, and understanding science, that he 
might have them instructed in the tongue and 
learning of the Chaldeans. He also allotted 
them provision of meat and wine from his 
own table that they might become fit to stand 
in his presence. 

Daniel and three other young princes were 
selected to study and live in accord with the 
kings' wish, for three years. Their names were 
changed, that of Daniel to Belteshazzar, and 
the others to Shadrach, Meshach and Abed- 
nego. 

Daniel purposed in his heart not to defile 
himself with the king’s meat and wine, so 
asked permission of the master of servants to 
eat by himself. Now this man loved the young 
Daniel and desired to please him, but was 
363 


THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


afraid of the king’s displeasure. He, too, 
thought as the king that this sort of food was 
necessary to the proper development of the 
young men, and feared that Daniel might look 
pale and thin and then the king would blame 
him for it. Daniel plead with him to try 
them on pulse (peas, beans, etc.) and water; 
and promised that if they did not thrive on 
such diet then they would partake of the 
king’s meat and wine. So he took away the 
meat and wine and gave them pulse and water 
as they had desired. This self-denial and ad¬ 
herence to principle was productive of good 
results, for God gave them knowledge and 
skill in all learning and wisdom. 

At the expiration of the three years Daniel 
and his friends were brought before the king. 
He found them ten times better than all the 
magicians and astrologers of his whole realm. 
Daniel thereafter stood before kings until the 
year of Cyrus. 

After Daniel and the three princes had been 
accepted by the king he, King Nebuchad¬ 
nezzar, was troubled with dreams. He called 
the magicians and wise men of his own king¬ 
dom before him and told them his trouble, but 
informed them that he had forgotten the 
dream. 


364 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


The wise men said they were ready to in¬ 
terpret the dream, but first the king must tell 
them what it was. The king said it had gone 
from him, but if they were wise enough to 
interpret the dream they must also be wise 
enough to tell him what the dream was; and 
unless they did so he would surely put them 
to death. 

The wise men answered saying that there 
was no man on earth who could show the 
king his dream; never before had king, prince 
or ruler asked such a thing of any magician; 
and it was an impossible thing that the king 
asked of them, for no one could show him his 
dream unless it were the gods, whose dwelling 
was not with flesh. 

The king was furious and commanded that 
all the wise men in Babylon be destroyed. 
Then they sought Daniel and his three com¬ 
panions to put them to death also, but Daniel 
talked with the king’s guard who Was sent to 
take them. He asked: “Why is the king so 
hasty ? ” and moreover, declared that if the 
king would wait he would show him the in¬ 
terpretation of the dream. 

Then Daniel and the three princes prayed 
to God for wisdom, and the matter was re¬ 
vealed to Daniel in a vision of the night. In 
365 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


thankfulness for this vision Daniel said: 
“ Blessed be the name of the Lord for ever 
and ever; for wisdom and might are his, he 
changeth the times and the seasons; he re- 
moveth kings and setteth up kings; he giveth 
wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge unto 
them that know understanding; he revealeth 
the deep and secret things; he knoweth what 
is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with 
him. I thank thee and praise thee, O thou 
God of my fathers, who hast given me wisdom 
and might, and hast made known unto me 
now what we desired of thee.” 

Daniel went to the captain of the guard and 
asked that the wise men be not put to death, 
but, instead, that he be taken before the king 
that he might tell him the dream and its in¬ 
terpretation. 

As Daniel stood before the king he was 
asked if he could tell the dream. He 
answered: “ The secret which the king de¬ 

manded, cannot the wise men, the magicians, 
the astrologers, the soothsayers show unto 
the king: but there is a God in heaven that 
revealeth secrets, and maketh known unto the 
king what shall be in the latter days. But as 
for me, this secret is not revealed unto me 
because I am wiser than others, but that thou 

366 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


mightest know the thoughts of thy heart. 
Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great 
image whose brightness was excellent stood 
before thee: and the form thereof was terrible. 
The head of the image was of fine gold, his 
breast and his arms of silver, his thighs of 
brass and his legs of iron and his feet part 
iron and part clay. Then thou sawest a stone 
cut out without hands, which smote the image 
upon his feet that were made of iron and clay, 
and brake them to pieces. Then was the iron, 
the clay, the silver, the brass and the gold 
broken and became like the chaflf of the sum¬ 
mer threshing-floors; the wind carried them 
away that no place was found for them. The 
stone that smote the image became a great 
mountain and filled the whole earth. This 
is thy dream and we will tell the interpretation 
thereof. 

“ Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for 
the God of heaven hath given thee a king¬ 
dom, power and strength and glory. And 
wheresoever the children of men dwell, the 
beasts of the field and the fowls of the air 
hath he given into thy hand, and hath made 
thee ruler over them all. Thou art the head 
of gold. After thee shall arise another king¬ 
dom inferior to thee, then a third kingdom of 
367 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


brass, that shall bear rule over all the earth; 
and then another kingdom strong as iron that 
shall break and bruise: but the kingdom part 
of iron and part of clay will be divided, for 
iron and clay cannot mix, so the kingdom 
shall be partly strong and partly broken. But 
the stone cut out of the mountain without 
hands, is the kingdom that God shall set up, 
and it shall break to pieces all other kingdoms 
and consume them and it shall stand forever. 
The dream is certain and the interpretation 
sure.” 

Then the king worshipped Daniel and said: 
“ Of a truth it is that your God is a God of 
gods, a Lord of kings and a revealer of se¬ 
crets.” 

Daniel at once became a great man, the 
king giving him splendid gifts and making 
him ruler over the whole province of Babylon. 
In the midst of it all Daniel did not forget 
his three friends but besought the king for 
them also. 

It came to pass, after some time, that the 
king set up a huge golden calf and ordered 
all the people in all the provinces to bow down 
and worship it. He called all the great men 
together for the dedication; and sent heralds 
throughout the land, crying, “To you it is 
368 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


commanded, O people, nations and languages, 
that at the time ye hear the sound of the 
cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, 
and all kinds of music, that ye fall down and 
worship the golden image that Nebuchad¬ 
nezzar, the king, hath set up; and whoso fall- 
eth not down and worshippeth shall the same 
hour be cast into the midst of the fiery fur¬ 
nace.” 

Then some of the Chaldeans came to the 
king and told him that certain of the Jews 
whom he had promoted to high places in his 
kingdom would not fall down and worship 
the golden image that he had set up. This 
is just what they had planned upon, for they 
hated the Jews and, especially, Daniel and his 
three friends. 

The king was very angry when told that 
these men whom he had honored would not 
bow down to the golden calf as he had com¬ 
manded. He sent for the three friends of 
Daniel and admonished them to obey that they 
be not cast into the fiery furnace. 

They answered calmly that their God would 
not only deliver them out of the fiery furnace 
but also out of the hands of the king. “ But 
if not,” said they, “ be it known unto thee, O 
king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor 

369 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


worship the golden image which thou hast 
set up.” 

The king, full of fury, commanded that 
the furnace be heated to seven times hotter 
than ever and that the three men, bound in 
their coats and hosen, their hats and other 
garments, be thrown into the furnace. So 
great was the heat of the furnace that the men 
who cast the three into it were consumed. 

The king, witnessing this, was much aston¬ 
ished ; but later, as he gazed into the furnace, 
exclaimed in profound amazement: “ Did we 
not cast three men bound into the fiery fur¬ 
nace? ” 

They who stood by answered him: “True, 
O king.” Then the king cried out: “ Lo, I 
see four men loose walking in the midst of 
the fire and they have no hurt: and the form 
of the fourth is like the Son of God.” The 
king drew near the furnace and cried: 
“ Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, ye serv¬ 
ants of the most high God, come forth and 
come hither.” And they came forth from the 
midst of the fire. 

The king and all his officers saw these men 
upon whose bodies the fire had no power, 
neither had their garments changed nor was 
the smell of fire upon them. 

370 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


Then the king blessed the God of Daniel 
and worshipped Him. He also promoted the 
three men, whom he had tried to burn to 
death, to even higher positions than they had 
previously occupied. 

Again the king dreamed a dream, and 
turned to Daniel’s God for an interpretation. 
Calling for Daniel he said to him: “Thus 
were the visions of my head in my bed: I saw, 
and behold, a tree in the midst of the earth 
and the height thereof was great. The tree 
grew and was strong, and the height thereof 
reached unto heaven, and the sight thereof to 
the ends of the earth. The leaves thereof 
were fair and the fruit thereof much, and in 
it was meat for all: the beasts of the field had 
shadow under it, and the fowls of the heavens 
dwelt in the boughs thereof, and all flesh was 
fed of it. * * * And behold a watcher 

and an holy one came down from heaven: 
He cried aloud and said thus: Hew down the 
tree and ;cut off his branches, shake off his 
leaves and scatter his fruit: let the beasts get 
away from under it and the fowls from his 
branches. Nevertheless leave the stump of 
his roots in the earth, even with a band of iron 
and brass, in the tender grass of the field; 
and let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and 
371 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


let his portion be with the beasts in the grass 
of the earth: Let his heart be changed from 
man’s, and let a beast’s heart be given unto 
him; and let seven times pass over him. This 
matter is by the decree of the watchers, and 
the demand by the word of the holy ones, to 
the intent that the living may know that the 
Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and 
giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth 
up over it the basest of men. This dream I 
King Nebuchadnezzar, have seen. Now, O 
Belteshazzar, declare the interpretation there¬ 
of. Thou art able for the spirit of the holy 
gods is in thee.” 

Daniel was astonished and troubled. “ My 
lord,” said he, “ the dream be to them that 
hate thee and the interpretation thereof to 
thine enemies. The tree that thou sawest 
* * * it is thou, O king, * * * and 

this is the decree of the Most High which is 
come upon my lord, the king: They shall 
drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall 
be with the beasts of the field, and they shall 
make thee to eat grass as the oxen; and they 
shall wet thee with the dew of heaven, and 
seven times shall pass over thee, until thou 
know that the Most High ruleth in the king¬ 
dom of men and giveth it to whomsoever he 

372 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


will. And whereas they commanded to leave 
the stump of the tree roots, thy kingdom shall 
be sure unto thee after that thou shalt have 
known that the heavens do rule. Wherefore, 
O king, break off thy sins by righteousness, 
and thine iniquities by shewing mercy to the 
poor, if it may be a lengthening of thy tran¬ 
quility.” 

Some time after this the king was walking 
in his palace and he said: “ Is not this great 
Babylon which I have built for the house of 
the kingdom by the might of my power and 
for the honor of my majesty? ” 

While the words were yet in the king’s 
mouth there came a voice from heaven, say¬ 
ing, “ O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is 
spoken: The kingdom is departed from thee.” 

That same hour the prophecy was fulfilled, 
for he was driven from men and did eat grass 
in the field like an ox, the dew of heaven fell 
upon him. In this manner he lived until his 
body was covered with hair “ like eagles’ 
feathers,” and his nails grew “ like birds’ 
claws.” 

At the end of the allotted time Nebuchad¬ 
nezzar lifted up his eyes unto heaven; his 
understanding returned and he blessed the 
Most High and praised Him whose kingdom 
373 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


is from everlasting to everlasting, and before 
whom all the inhabitants of the earth are ac¬ 
counted as nothing. At the same time that 
his reason was restored the glory of his king¬ 
dom returned. His lords and princes sought 
to do him reverence and excellent majesty 
was added unto him. 

After the death of this remarkable king, 
Belshazzar, his son, reigned in his stead. He 
was much given to riot and revelry, nor did he 
possess the wonderful faculties of his father. 

On one occasion he made a feast to a thou¬ 
sand of his lords and commanded that the 
golden vessels which his father had carried 
away from the temple at Jerusalem be brought 
in. While they were drinking and eating from 
these golden vessels and dishes and shouting 
praises to the gods of Babylon the fingers of 
a man’s hand mysteriously appeared and 
wrote upon the wall of the banquet chamber. 

The king’s countenance changed for his 
thoughts troubled him, and his knees smote 
together in fear. He called aloud for the 
astrologers and soothsayers, but none of them 
could interpret the hand-writing on the wall. 

Then the queen who heard of it, came into 
the presence of the king and said: “ Let 
Daniel be called.” 


374 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


Some little confusion followed this bit of 
advice, for Daniel had almost been forgotten 
since the death of Nebuchadnezzar and the 
coming into office of the favorites of the new 
king. The queen remembered, however, so 
advised them to send for him; and with the 
greatest confidence said “ He will shew the 
interpretation/' 

Daniel was soon brought in and stood be¬ 
fore the king. Without any hesitation he 
referred the king to the things that had hap¬ 
pened to his father because of his pride, then 
said: “ Thou, O king, hast not humbled thy¬ 
self though thou knewest it all, but hast lifted 
up thyself against the Lord of heaven, and 
this writing is sent thee: God hath numbered 
thy kingdom and finished it. Thou art weighed 
in the balances and art found wanting. Thy 
kingdom is divided and given to the Medes 
and Persians.” 

Then the king commanded and Daniel was 
clothed in scarlet and a chain of gold was 
placed about his neck; and he was made third 
ruler in the kingdom. 

In that same night, however, the king was 
slain and Darius, the Mede, took the kingdom. 

King Darius set an hundred and twenty 
princes over his realm, and over the princes 
375 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


three presidents of whom Daniel was made 
chief, for Darius saw at once that there was 
an excellent spirit in him. 

This caused much jealousy among the lords 
and princes and they sought for some fault 
in him, but could find none. They finally de¬ 
cided that the only way they could trap him 
was through his religious convictions. So they 
established royal statutes, and made a firm 
decree, that whosoever should ask a petition 
of any god or man for thirty days, save of 
the king, he should be cast into the den of 
lions. They took this decree to Darius and 
said: “ Now, O king, establish the decree and 
sign the writing, that it be not changed, ac¬ 
cording to the law of the Medes and Persians, 
which altereth not.” 

Daniel paid no attention to this new law, 
but three times each day went to his chamber 
and before a window that opened toward 
Jerusalem, made supplication to his God. 

Then these wily princes went to Darius and 
said: “ That Daniel which is of the captivity 
of Judah, regardeth thee not, O king, nor the 
decree that thou hast signed, but maketh his 
petitions three times a day.” The king was 
much displeased with himself for having made 
such a law, and immediately set about trying 
376 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


to deliver Daniel; but the assembly of officers 
said: “ Know, O king, that the law of the 
Medes and Persians is, that no decree nor 
statute which the king establisheth may be 
changed.” So Daniel was cast among the 
lions and a stone was placed upon the mouth 
of the den. The king sealed it with his own 
signet and the signet of his lords, that the 
purpose might not be changed concerning 
Daniel. The king did not fail to comfort 
Daniel, for he told him that he was satisfied in 
his own mind that the God whom he had so 
faithfully served would deliver him out of the 
mouths of the lions. Then the king returned 
to his palace but could neither eat nor sleep. 
After a night of anguish he arose with the 
first sign of day and hastened to the den of 
lions and called: “ Daniel, O Daniel, servant 
of the living God, is thy God, whom thou 
servest continually, able to deliver thee from 
the lions ? ” Daniel answered: “ O king, live 
forever, my God hath sent his angel and hath 
shut the lions , mouths that they have not hurt 
me: for as innocency was found in me before 
him: and also before thee, O king, I have 
done no hurt.” 

Then was the king exceedingly glad, and 
commanded that Daniel be immediately taken 
377 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


out of the den and that all his accusers, with 
their wives and children, be thrown in. They 
had no God to deliver them and so they per¬ 
ished in the very manner that they had 
planned for Daniel. The lions even destroyed 
them before they reached the bottom of the 
cave. 

The king then made a decree and caused it 
to be published throughout all his kingdom 
that everyone should fear and tremble before 
Daniel’s God, for, “ He is the living God, 
steadfast forever, he delivereth and rescueth 
and he worketh signs and wonders in heaven 
and in earth, and delivered Daniel from the 
power of the lions.” 

Daniel prospered in the days of Darius, the 
Mede, and also under Cyrus, the Persian. 

Early in life Daniel had conquered himself 
and though loaded with honors and clothed in 
fine raiment, his life was austere in its sim¬ 
plicity, and the purity of his thought brought 
him very near to God whom he recognized as 
omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent Love. 
While he was strong and fearless and ever 
faithful to his highest sense of right, yet he 
was kind and gentle in all that he said and did. 
He knew that all God made and did was good, 
and that God was with him wherever he went, 
378 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


even in the lions’ den. He had no sense of 
fear, for his heart was filled with that perfect 
love which “ casteth out fear.” 

Daniel was not a prophet in the usual sense 
of the word, but the great panorama of future 
nations was unrolled before him in visions. 
He looked into the eyes of future kings 
through the eyes of mystic beasts with horns 
—the symbols of royal power. All these 
beasts typified the horrible, ungodly powers 
that would rule the earth from time to time 
until “ The Ancient of Days ” shall come to 
judge the nations. 

In one of these visions Alexander the Great 
was pointed out long before he came to his 
throne, or his kingdom was established. 

Daniel was always dignified, serene, stately. 
He preserved his integrity under all circum¬ 
stances; and was loyal to God and his people 
even in the midst of heathen pomp and royal 
favor. The latter part of his ministry was de¬ 
voted to aiding in the restoration of the Jews. 
He disappears from history, mysteriously, like 
many of the other prophets. 


379 




THE MINOR PROPHETS. 


Hosea—Malachi. 








The Minor Prophets. 
Hosea. 

Joel. 

Amos. 

Obadiah. 

Jonah. 

Micah. 

Nahum. 

Habakkuk. 

Zephaniah. 

Haggai. 

Zechariah. 

Malachi. 



The Minor Prophets. 

The twelve small books of prophecy which 
close the Old Testament are called the Minor 
Prophets. They cover a period of about four 
hundred years, from the ninth to the fifth 
century B. C. The order in which they are 
given in the Bible has nothing to do with the 
date or time in which they were written. 


Hosea. 

Hosea, the author of the book which bears 
his name, is the third of the Minor Prophets 
in point of time, Joel and Amos being of an 
earlier date. 

He was born in one of the northern prov¬ 
inces and became prophet in Israel contempo¬ 
raneously with Isaiah, the great prophet in 
Judah. He began his ministry during the 
reign of Jeroboam II, while Israel was appar¬ 
ently quite prosperous. The worship of the 
Golden Calf, instituted by Jeroboam I, who 
had made Israel to sin, still continued and 
impure and monstrous rites were performed in 
the groves of Israel. 

The clear vision of the inevitable destruc¬ 
tion of his country made Hosea’s life exceed¬ 
ingly melancholy and even tragic. His style 

385 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


is sometimes allegorical, abrupt but forceful. 
He denounced his people in bitter wrath, he 
admonished them with pathetic eloquence. 

He prophesied the downfall of Israel, and 
likened the nation to a vile woman with vile 
children whom God had commanded him to 
live with, love, teach and lead them back to 
God. He prophesied the reunion of Israel 
and Judah; but his allusions to the coming 
Messiah are not clear and strong like those 
of the prophets of Judah. 

“ The word of the Lord came unto Hosea, 
the son of Beeri, Hear ye the word of the 
Lord, ye children of Israel: for the Lord hath 
a controversy with the inhabitants of the land 
because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor 
knowledge of God in the land. For I desired 
mercy and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of 
God more than burnt sacrifices. Also, O 
Judah, there is a harvest appointed unto thee 
when I bring again the captivity of my peo¬ 
ple. Now their own doings beset them about/’ 
He pictures the peaceful and sweet pursuit 
of Truth: “ Then shall we know if we follow 
on to know the Lord: his going forth is pre¬ 
pared as the morning; and he shall come unto 
us as the rain, as the latter and former rain 
unto the earth/’ 

386 



Joel. 

Joel is supposed to be the most ancient of 
the Minor Prophets. Nothing is known of 
his early life except that he belonged to the 
kingdom of Judah, was, in all probability, a 
citizen of Jerusalem where he may also have 
been a priest. 

He began his ministry as a prophet, it is 
supposed about 810 B. C. He preceded Isaiah 
and his style equals that great prophet in 
grandeur and sublimity. 

The kingdom of Judah had been smitten, 
year after year, by a plague of locusts and 
her affliction was very great. Joel came to 
them and told them that if they would return 
unto the Lord then they would be free from 
the pests which were destroying the land. In 
his appeal to them he likens the locusts to a 
devastating army of strong men: “ The ap¬ 
pearance of them is as the appearance of 
horses; and as horsemen, so shall they run. 
Like the noise of chariots on the tops of the 
mountains shall they leap. They shall run as 
mighty men; they shall climb the wall like 
men of war; and they shall march everyone 
387 


THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


on his ways, and they shall not break their 
ranks. They shall run to and fro in the city; 
they shall run upon the wall, they shall climb 
up into the houses.” 

This plague of locusts symbolizes greater 
calamities to come, so Joel reproved, coun¬ 
selled and warned them. Then he delivered 
his further message in which the Lord is rep¬ 
resented as speaking to his people, comforting 
them with promises of peace and plenty after 
they have reformed their ways. 

The book closes with a glorious promise of 
the Messianic age: “And it shall come to pass 
in that day, that the mountains shall drop 
down new wine, and the hills shall flow with 
milk, and all the brooks of Judah shall flow 
with waters, and a fountain shall come forth 
of the house of the Lord. Judah shall dwell 
forever and Jerusalem from generation to 
generation.” 


388 



Amos. 


Amos was also contemporary with Isaiah, 
but ministered in Israel. As nearly as we can 
determine his ministry covered the years 
809-784 B. C. 

He says of himself: “ The words of Amos, 
who was among the herdsmen of Tekoa, 
which he saw concerning Israel in the days of 
Uzziah, king of Judah, and in the days of 
Jeroboam the son of Joash the king of Israel, 
two years before the earthquake.” 

Israel was in the height of her prosperity 
when the prophet came to Bethel, the center 
of the worship of the Golden Calf, and poured 
out a flood of prophecy against her and Judah 
as well. He was ordered away and forbidden 
to prophesy there as it was “ the king’s chapel 
and the king’s court.” Then answered Amos: 
“ I was no prophet neither the son of a 
prophet; but I was an herdman and a gatherer 
of sycamore fruit. And the Lord took me as 
I followed the flock and the Lord said unto 
me: Go, prophesy to my people Israel. I will 
slay the last of them with the sword: he that 
fleeth away of them shall not flee away, and 
389 


THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


he that escapeth of them shall not be delivered. 
Though they dig into hell thence shall my 
hand take them; though they climb up into 
heaven thence will I bring them down. 
Though they hid from my sight in the bottom 
of the sea thence would I command the ser¬ 
pent to bite them. And I will sift the house of 
Israel among all nations, as corn is sifted in 
a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon 
the earth.” 

He, too, promises a wonderful day of peace 
and plenty: “ Behold the day cometh, saith 

the Lord, when the plowman shall overtake 
the reaper, and the treader of grapes him 
that soweth the seed; and the mountains shall 
drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt. 
* * * I will plant them (the Israelites in 

the day to come) upon their land and they 
shall no more be pulled up out of their land 
which I have given them, saith the Lord thy 
God.” 


390 



Obadiah 


Nothing is known of Obadiah save what we 
find in the small chapter which forms his 
book. It is supposed, however, from the na¬ 
ture of his prophecies that he lived before the 
conquest of Edom (B. C. 583). 

The book begins with a prophecy against 
Edom, the land of Esau’s descendants, be¬ 
cause of their violence toward Jacob’s chil¬ 
dren, Judah and Israel. 

He writes: “ The visions of Obadiah. Thus 
saith the Lord God concerning Edom. We 
have heard a rumor from the Lord and an 
ambassador is sent among the heathen, Arise 
ye, and let us rise against her in battle. Be¬ 
hold, I have made thee small among the 
heathen, thou art greatly despised. The pride 
of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that 
dwellest in the clefts of the rocks, whose habi¬ 
tation is high; that hath said in his heart, 
Who shall bring me down to the ground? 
Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, 
though thou build thy nest among the stars, 
thence will I bring thee down, saith the Lord. 
* * * But upon Mount Zion shall be deliv- 
391 


the lure of the book 


erance, and there shall be holiness and there 
shall the house of Jacob possess their 
possessions. And the house of Jacob shall 
be fire, and the house of Joseph shall be 
a flame, and the house of Esau for stubble 
* * * And saviors shall come up on 

Mount Zion, to judge the Mount of Esau, 
and the kingdom shall be the Lord’s.” 

These prophecies have been fulfilled. The 
Israelites and Jews did, finally, punish the 
Edomites; and so we see that the conflict 
between Jacob and Esau broke out again 
after the two brothers were dead, and was 
carried on for many, many years after. In 
fact, we see that the ancient prophecy in 
regard to the enmity of the two races was 
fulfilled and bitter strife was maintained to 
the end. 


392 



Jonah. 

Jonah was of the tribe of Zebulun, and 
therefore belonged to Israel. He lived and 
taught in the time of Jeroboam II. 

The book begins: “Now the word of the 
Lord came to Jonah, the son of Amittai, say¬ 
ing; Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, 
and cry against it; for their wickedness is 
come up before me.” But Jonah did not 
purpose to do so, and attempted to flee from 
the presence of the Lord. He went down 
to Joppa, and finding a ship that was about 
to sail for Tarshish, paid his fare and went 
aboard. They had no sooner put to sea than 
the Lord sent a mighty wind, and there was 
so great a tempest that the ship was in dan¬ 
ger of being broken in pieces. The mariners 
were afraid and cried out unto their gods, and 
threw forth the wares out of the ship to light¬ 
en it. In the midst of all the danger and 
confusion Jonah lay fast asleep. 

The shipmaster came to him and said, 
“ What meanest thou, O sleeper ? Arise, call 
upon thy God, if so be that God will think 
upon us that we perish not.” The men were 
393 


THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


convinced that this dreadful storm had come 
upon them because of some evil one among 
their number, so they drew lots to find who 
it was. The lot fell upon Jonah. Then he 
said to them: “I am a Hebrew, and I fear 
the Lord God of heaven, which hath made 
the sea and the dry land * * * Take me 

up and cast me forth into the sea; so shall 
the sea be calm unto you; for I know that for 
my sake this great tempest is upon you.” 
He told them how he had fled from the 
presence of the Lord; and the men, seeing 
that he was telling the truth, rowed with all 
their strength that they might bring the ship 
to land; but their efforts were in vain for the 
sea wrought against them. Then they took 
Jonah and cast him into the sea. Immedi¬ 
ately the storm abated and the raging of the 
sea was stilled. 

Now, the Lord had prepared a great fish 
to swallow Jonah, and the disobedient prophet 
lived in this fish for three days and three 
nights. 

Jonah thus tells of his experience and his 
prayers: “ I cried by reason of mine affliction 
unto the Lord, and he heard me: out of the belly 
of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice. 
For thou hadst cast me into the deep in the 
394 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


midst of the seas; All thy billows and thy 
waves passed over me. The waters compassed 
me about, even to the soul, the depth closed 
me round about, the weeds were wrapped 
around my head. I went down to the bottoms 
of the montains; the earth with her bars was 
about to receive me forever; yet hadst thou 
brought up my life from corruption, O Lord 
my God. When my soul fainted within me, 
I remembered the Lord; and my prayer came 
in unto thee into thine holy temple. They that 
observe lying vanities forsake their own mer¬ 
cies. Salvation is of the Lord.” 

Then the Lord spake unto the fish and it 
threw Jonah upon the dry land. Again the 
word of the Lord came unto Jonah saying, 
“Arise, go unto Nineveh that great city and 
preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee.” 
Jonah was now ready to obey and when he 
came into the heart of the great city he cried, 
and said “Yet forty days and Nineveh shall 
be overthrown.” 

When this word came to the king of Nin¬ 
eveh he and all the people turned to God. 
The king laid aside his royal robes and with 
the people entered upon a most solemn fast, 
for neither man nor beast was to eat anything 
or taste water, but were to cry mightily unto 
395 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


God, yea, and turn every one from his evil 
way and from the violence that was in his 
hand. This was the true fast, this fasting 
from the things that were but evil designs of 
the heart. 

God saw that the people turned from 
wickedness and showed mercy upon them, and 
they were saved from the impending disaster. 
But when Jonah realized that the city was 
not to be destroyed as he had prophesied he 
was very angry and told the Lord that he did 
not want to come and prophesy to these 
people of destruction if it was not to be ful¬ 
filled. He wanted to die, for he would sooner 
that than to be accused of being a false 
prophet. Then the Lord rebuked Jonah and 
asked him, “Dost thou well to be angry?” 

Then the prophet went out of Nineveh and 
built him a booth where he sat to watch the 
city and see what would become of it. A 
gourd grew up beside Jonah and was 
a shadow over his head. He was exceedingly 
glad of this, for the sun was very hot. How¬ 
ever, a worm soon ate the gourd so that it 
withered, a blasting east wind began to blow 
and the sun beat down upon Jonah so that 
he fainted and wished to die. Then God said 
to him “ Dost thou well to be angry with the 
396 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


gourd?” Jonah answered: “I do well to be 
angry even unto death.” In this Jonah, just 
like many of us, today, talked of his troubles 
but did not realize that he was actually talk¬ 
ing to God. 

Then said the Lord to Jonah, “Thou hast 
had pity on the gourd, for which thou hast 
not labored, neither madest it grow: which 
came up in a night and perished in a night: 
And should not I spare Nineveh, that great 
city wherein are more than sixscore thousand 
persons that cannot discern between their 
right hand and their left hand; and also much 
cattle?” It was for God, who is Infinite 
Wisdom, to know what was right and best to 
do, not for Jonah to complain of God’s way 
simply because it wounded his vanity. Jonah 
was not the judge, but merely the instrument 
in God’s 'hands to warn these people, and 
bring them to repentance. 

This book has been widely criticised, especi¬ 
ally the passages relating to the great fish 
and Jonah’s wonderful prayer. We must 
remember that all things are possible with 
God, and that as far as the prayer is con¬ 
cerned, why, wherever man can think he can 
pray. No depth of earth or sea, no circum¬ 
stance or condition can prevent prayer from 
397 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


ascending into God’s holy temple. Whether 
the book is allegorical or not is not for us 
to say; but in it we find a lesson of obedience 
and love that we will do well to learn. 


398 



Micah. 


This prophet was born in Moresheth-gath, 
and lived in Israel. He prophesied about the 
same time as Isaiah. His style is sometimes 
stern, sometimes tender, always poetic. He 
prophesied the destruction of Israel and 
Judah, and foretold the Babylonian captivity 
one hundred and fifty years before it came 
to pass and at a time when that nation was 
almost unknown. He forecast: The return 
from captivity; events from two hundred 
to five hundred years distant; the heroic 
deeds, religious and political, of the Maccabees 
which happened about the year B. C. 167; the 
establishment of the royal seat in Sion, and, 
also, the birth and birthplace of the Messiah. 

He complains because Israel loves false 
prophets and listened to those who talked of 
wine and strong drink: 

“ Therefore night shall be unto you that ye 
shall not have a vision; and it shall be dark 
unto you that ye shall not divine; and the sun 
shall go down over the prophets, and the day 
shall be dark over their eyes, they shall all 
cover their lips; for there is no answer of 
God. Therefore Zion, for your sakes, shall 


THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


be plowed as a field and Jerusalem shall be¬ 
come heaps.” He tells them, also, of the won¬ 
derful kingdom of peace that is to come: 
“When nations shall beat their swords into 
pruning hooks: nation shall not lift up sword 
against nation, neither shall they learn war 
anv more. But they shall sit, every man 
under his own vine and under his fig-tree, and 
none shall make them afraid * * * But 

thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be 
little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of 
thee shall he come forth unto me that is to 
be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have 
been from of old, from everlasting * * * 

And the remnant of Jacob shall be among 
the Gentiles in the midst of many people as 
a lion among the beasts of the forest, as a 
young lion among the flocks of sheep.” 

He showed the people that the Lord would 
have mercy upon the nation and turn again 
to them in the midst of their great distresses 
and perform the promise which He had made 
to Abraham and also to Jacob, “ which thou 
hast sworn unto our fathers from the days of 
old.” 

Nearly all of these prophecies have been ful¬ 
filled, and the world has been blessed through 
the scattering abroad of the people of God. 

400 



Nahum. 


Nahum was a native of a little village in 
Galilee. He ministered after the fall of the 
kingdom of Israel and toward the close of 
the reign of King Hezekiah. 

His book is also poetical, but very strong 
in its conceptions. He predicts the destruc¬ 
tion of Nineveh and begins his prophecy with 
the words: “ The burden of Nineveh.’’ He 
announces the glad tidings of the eventual 
destruction of the city of Nineveh, and, later, 
the coming of the great Prince of Peace. He 
writes: “ Behold, upon the mountains the feet 
of him that bringeth good tidings, that pub¬ 
lished peace! O Judah keep thy solemn feasts, 
perform thy vows; for the wicked shall no 
more pass through thee; he is utterly cast 
off.” 

His words must have been full of comfort 
to the Jews who had witnessed the downfall 
of Israel, and, while in fear themselves, were 
waiting for the Lord to bless and prosper 
them. There is a strong lesson of faith to be 
learned from' this book, and one which is of 
profit to all. 


401 


Habakkuk^ 


Habakkuk, a very distinguished prophet of 
Judah, was a younger contemporary of 
Jeremiah. His birthplace, parentage, and the 
events of his early life are purely conjectural. 

He prophesied the coming of the Chal¬ 
deans, “ that bitter and hasty nation which 
shall march through the breadth of the land 
to possess the dwelling places that are not 
theirs.” He also foretells the shame of the 
conquerors. 

His ministry was in the full tide of pro¬ 
phetic power; his language shows scholarly 
attainment and bespeaks an individuality at 
once strong and forceful. 

Thus does the prophet complain because 
Israel is to be destroyed by a nation inferior 
to itself: “ The burden which Habakkuk the 
prophet did see. O Lord, how long shall I 
cry, and thou wilt not hear! even cry out 
unto thee of violence, and thou wilt not save! 
* * * Art thou not from everlasting, O 

Lord my God, mine Holy One? We shall 
not die. O Lord, thou hast ordained them 
for judgment; and O mighty God, thou hast 

402 


THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


established them for correction. Thou art of 
purer eyes than to behold evil and canst not 
look upon iniquity; wherefore lookest thou 
upon them that deal treacherously and holdest 
thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the 
man that is more righteous than he? Thou 
makest men as the fishes of the sea * * * 
They take up all of them with the angle, they 
catch them in their net and gather them in 
their drag: therefore they rejoice and are 
glad.” He declares: "The just shall live by 
faith, but woe unto him that increaseth that 
which is not his; and to him that ladeth him¬ 
self with thick clay. Woe to him that buildeth 
a town with blood, and establisheth a city by 
iniquity. For the stone shall cry out of the 
wall, and the beam out of the timber shall 
answer it * * * For the earth shall be 

filled with the knowledge of the glory of the 
Lord as the waters cover the sea * * * 
The Lord is in his holy temple: let all the 
earth keep silence before him.” 


403 



Zephaniah. 


This prophet is thought to have been of 
royal descent. He lived in the time of King 
Josiah, who was his personal friend. Their 
united efforts could not, however, keep the 
people from idolatry and immorality. He 
urged the people to turn from their destruc¬ 
tion by turning from their evil ways, insisting 
that purification and obedience were both 
necessary to salvation. 

He, too, foretold their coming captivity, 
and of a far-off day when the kingdom would 
be restored: “At that time will I bring you 
again, even in the time that I gather you: 
for I will make you a name and a praise 
among all the people of the earth, when I 
turn back your captivity before your eyes, 
saith the Lord.” 

He tells, also, of a time when all nations 
shall be assembled together, speaking one lan¬ 
guage, and when all ignorance will be de¬ 
stroyed : “ For then will I turn to the people a 
pure language, that they may all call upon the 
name of the Lord, to serve him with one con¬ 
sent.” This prophecy seems as though it 

404 


THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


were to be fulfilled in the not so very far fu¬ 
ture. Scholars tell us that there is every in¬ 
dication of the adoption of a universal 
language, and these indications point toward 
the English language. 


405 



Haggai. 


Haggai was one of those who went up from 
Babylon to assist in the rebuilding of the 
temple at Jerusalem. When the work was 
interrupted and the builders had become dis¬ 
couraged his words and example gave them 
new heart and hastened its completion. He 
cried to the people: “ Is it a time for you to 
dwell in cieled houses and in this house lie 
waste? Now therefore thus saith the Lord, 
Consider your ways. Ye have sown much but 
bring in little; ye eat but ye have not enough 
* * * ye clothe ye but there is none warm; 

and he that eameth wages earneth wages to put 
it in a bag that hath holes. Thus saith the Lord, 
Consider your ways. Go up to the mountains 
and bring wood and build the house, and I will 
take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith 
the Lord. Ye looked for much and, lo, it 
came to a little; and when ye brought it home 
I did blow upon it. Why? * * * Be¬ 

cause of mine house that is waste and ye run 
every man to his own house. Therefore the 
heaven over you is stayed from dew, and the 
earth is stayed from her fruit.” 

406 


THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


Then the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerub- 
babel, the governor of Judah, and Joshua, the 
high priest, and all the remnant of the people 
and they worked upon the house of the Lord, 
and the Lord was with them. 

Zerubbabel means “ scattered,” or “ born in 
Babylon,” and this prince seems to have been 
the one chosen to stand for the remnant of 
the people who were faithful to the true God. 
Thus Haggai says: “ In that day, saith the 
Lord, I will take thee, O Zerubbabel, my ser¬ 
vant * * * and will make thee as a 

signet, for I have chosen thee, saith the Lord 
of hosts.” 

This was a momentous time in the history 
of the Jews and the ministry of Haggai was 
of the greatest importance. His book is 
short, but his personal influence upon those 
who returned to Jerusalem was so great that 
it would be impossible for us to measure it. 


407 



Zechariah. 


This prophet was of priestly descent and 
apparently was bom and educated in Babylon. 
He labored in Jerusalem with Haggai, en¬ 
couraging the people to continue the rebuild¬ 
ing of the house of the Lord which had been 
interupted by the death of King Cyrus. 

He prophesied mostly through visions. In 
the first one he saw a man upon a red horse 
among the myrtle trees, with other horsemen 
behind him. He talked with this man about 
the restoration of God’s people. 

In his second vision he saw the four horns 
“that had scattered Judah and Israel,” and 
the four carpenters sent to cast out the four 
horns. 

In another vision he saw a young man 
measuring the breadth and length of the city 
with a line, and heard an angel tell him that 
“ Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns with¬ 
out walls, for the multitude of men and cattle 
therein.” This prophecy referred to the weak¬ 
ness of human inventions and set forth a 
promise that God would be “ a wall of fire ” 
about the people to protect them. 

408 


THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


He prophesied of the coming Messiah, and 
promised that the Lord would bring forth 
His servant, the Branch, and would remove 
the iniquity of the people in one day and then 
“ every man would call his neighbor under 
the vine and under the fig-tree.” 

Again the angel of the Lord wakened him 
out of his sleep and showed him a golden 
candlestick with a bowl upon the top of it. 
There were two olive trees, one upon the left, 
and one upon the right of the bowl. Then 
the angel said: “ Not by might, nor by power, 
but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.” 
The prophet asked the angel to explain what 
these two trees meant, “What be these two 
olive branches which through the two golden 
pipes empty the golden oil out of them¬ 
selves ? ” The angel answered, “ These be the 
two anointed ones that stand by the Lord of 
the whole earth.” 

At another time he saw an immense “ flying 
roll,” and the angel told him that it was the 
“ curse that goeth over the face of the whole 
earth.” Then he saw an ephah (a measure) 
and a talent of lead lifted up. The angel said, 
“ This is wickedness,” and he cast it into the 
ephah and the weight of lead was put upon 
the mouth of the ephah. Two women came 
409 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


out, “ and the wind was in their wings,” and 
they lifted up the ephah between the earth 
and the heaven and bore it away. 

Again he saw in his vision a man, and was 
told that his name was “ The Branch.” He 
was to build the temple and sit upon the 
throne, for he was to be both priest and king 
and the counsel of peace was to be in him. 
This was to come to pass when men diligently 
obey the voice of God. 

Zechariah had many other visions. He told 
of a time to come when day and night would 
be one. “ It shall come to pass that at evening 
time it shall be light.” 


410 



Malachi. 


The author of this book is unknown, but 
the name means “ Messenger/' His book was 
written after the completion of the temple, 
B. C. 416, and at a time when the people had 
lapsed into careless and evil ways and the 
priesthood had fallen into great disorder. 

Malachi was the last of the Old Testament 
prophets, and the book implies that he was 
the last to hold any prophetic office; or, at 
least, one of national importance. Yet it fore¬ 
tells the revival of Elijah—the first of his line 
—or a prophet with the spirit and power of 
Elijah who should precede the Messiah. 

The book was written during the decline of 
Hebrew literature and lacks the brilliancy that 
marks the work of earlier prophets; yet it is 
earnest and far-reaching. It portrays Judah’s 
pitiful spiritual condition: “And now, O ye 
priests, this commandment is for you. If ye 
will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart, 
to give glory unto my name, saith the Lord of 
hosts, I will even send a curse upon you, and 
I will curse your blessings: yea, I have cursed 
411 


THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


them already, because ye do not lay it to 
heart.” 

He deplores words without deeds, and 
points out their neglect of God: “ Who is 
there among you that would shut the door for 
nought ? neither do ye kindle fire on mine altar 
for nought: I have no pleasure in you, saith 
the Lord of Hosts, neither will I accept an 
offering at your hand. * * * Ye have 

wearied the Lord with your words. * * * 

Return unto me and I will return unto you, 
saith the Lord of Hosts. * * * Will a 

man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. 
* * * Bring ye all the tithes (love, honor, 

obedience, money) into the storehouse that 
there may be meat in mine house, and prove 
me now herewith, saith the Lord of Hosts, if 
I will not open you the windows of heaven, 
and pour you out a blessing, that there shall 
not be room to receive it.” For the obedient 
“ shall the Sun of righteousness arise with 
healing in his wings.” 


From beginning to end of the Old Testa¬ 
ment we are taught that only through obedi¬ 
ence can we hope to find and remain in the 
Path of Life. Then we may well ask: obedi¬ 
ence to what, and to whom? 

412 




THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


We are plainly taught that it is not in burnt 
offerings, nor in the observance of rites and 
ceremonies; but, rather, in obedience to Prin¬ 
ciple. It is to be, and to do, good. This is 
harmony and immortality. The Psalmist 
writes: “ Depart from evil, do good and dwell 
forever.” So to obey this Principle is life 
eternal. 

The Scriptures teach that God is Life, 
everywhere present, harmonious and eternal. 
That God is Spirit, all-pervading, true and 
tender. That God is Mind, infinite, unerring, 
the Creator. That God is Love, divine, om¬ 
nipotent, omnipresent Love, changeless and 
eternal. That God is Truth, infinite, omnis¬ 
cient, filling all space, and in whose presence 
error cannot stand. 

Having other gods, believing in other pow¬ 
ers; accepting the changing, decaying, coun¬ 
terfeit creation; and man “Whose breath is 
in his nostrils,” as the universe of God and 
God’s man; is the sin that leads to confusion 
and death. As it was in the beginning it is 
now, and ever shall be—God’s work is 
changeless, absolute, perfect. 

Evil, like darkness, has no source; and man 
is slowly learning that to “ Depart from evil 
and do good ” is the true life of man. God 
413 



THE LURE OF THE BOOK 


has said to this man, through the Psalmist, 
“ I will instruct thee and teach thee the way 
in which thou shalt go: I will counsel thee 
with mine eye upon thee.” Through the 
prophet He has said: “ Thine ear shall hear 
a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, 
walk ye in it.” We will know this to be true 
by experience when we know God and under¬ 
stand his universe aright. “ Hear, O Israel, 
the Lord our God is one Lord! There is none 
beside Him.” 

Metta Frazee Miller. 


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